By Selina Riachi | Staff Writer
Since October 7, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has captured the attention of billions. Many core institutions, including the UN, taken many steps to neutralize the situation. On Friday, December 22nd, the UN passed a resolution to send more humanitarian aid to Gaza. They passed this resolution with 13 votes in favor and none against, with the US and Russia abstaining. However, many have claimed that the UN resolutions are “insufficient” and “meaningless”, as they are shallow, weak, and not enough to ensure an immediate ceasefire. As of December 25th, Egypt and Qatar have proposed a new plan to work towards a complete ceasefire through many rounds of exchanging Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners.
Neighboring countries and allies have intervened as casualties started skyrocketing. Tensions have not only exacerbated political conflict but have also created new humanitarian crises, threatening the lives of not only civilians in Gaza but also reaching South Lebanon.
As of December 28, 82 days since the original attack, 1.9 million people have been displaced, 21,000+ killed, and 55,600+ injured in the Gaza Strip alone, according to the UNRIC. As a result, Israel’s response to the Hamas-led October 7 attack has been widely criticized as unproportionate and in breach of international law. Despite claims of only targeting Hamas militants, innocent civilians including women and children have been targets of the Israeli government’s military actions in Gaza. Moreover, hospitals have been the targets of military strikes as the Israeli army believed that they might hold terrorists. Since October 7, WHO reports that medical infrastructure in Gaza has been attacked nearly 600 times, affecting 94 healthcare sites and damaging 26 hospitals out of the total 36 in the area. About 613 people have died within these facilities and more than 700 have been injured.
On October 9, Israel imposed a blockade on the Gaza Strip in response to the Hamas attacks, and as such, the population’s access to food and water has decreased exponentially, reaching alarming levels of malnutrition and dehydration that allowed for the spread of diseases and infections.
Since then, the United Nations Relief Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has provided more than 10 thousand patients with healthcare and has distributed tons of flour, millions of liters of water, and millions of other units of food. They have also provided shelters in middle and southern areas and have focused on sanitation and hygiene. Despite their continuous efforts, the UN acknowledges that “Gaza was a desperate humanitarian situation before the most recent hostilities” and that “it is now catastrophic”. Officials have stated that “the world must do more” and have reiterated the need for unimpeded sustained humanitarian access.
On October 27th, the UN general assembly adopted the resolution calling for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in Gaza. It voted overwhelmingly in favor, by a margin of 120 to 14 and 45 abstaining. However, the resolution was non-binding and only served to measure global opinion on the conflict. On November 21, Israel and Hamas announced a four-day pause in fighting, with a big increase in humanitarian, medical, and fuel aid to be allowed in Gaza. It began on November 24 and was renewed twice before December 1, enabling the release of 105 Israeli hostages in Gaza and 240 Palestinian prisoners. After 7 days of the truce, the fighting and air raids resumed.
Although the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres reiterated the need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire early on, that resolution hasn’t been adopted yet. On December 8, the Security Council held a meeting where a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire was tabled. 13 member states voted in favor of this brief draft resolution, but it was vetoed by the US. The US and Israel opposed a ceasefire because they believed it would only benefit Hamas. “This would only plant the seeds for the next war, because Hamas has no desire to see durable peace, to see a two-state solution”, stated Robert Wood, a deputy US ambassador to the UN.
On the 22nd of December, the UN Security Council adopted the resolution calling for an immediate increase in humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. They passed this resolution with 13 votes in favor, none against, and the US and Russia abstaining. Critics were quick to point out how “meaningless” and “insufficient” this resolution was in terms of its impact on the lives of civilians in Gaza, as “without a truce, the UN resolution may do little for Gaza”. The delivery of aid may be beneficial but, as mentioned after the meeting by Antonio Guterres himself, “a humanitarian ceasefire is the only way to begin to meet the desperate needs of people in Gaza and end their ongoing nightmare”. The focus of the UN has been criticized for being entirely wrong and “painfully short” of what is needed in this humanitarian crisis.
Agnes Callamard, Amnesty International’s secretary general, emphasized that the resolution was “watered down significantly” and boldly called out the US for being able to “stall and use the threat of the veto power to force the UN Security Council to weaken a much-needed call for an immediate end to attacks by all parties”. She was one of the many people criticizing the US for its stance, as the country was accused of using diluted language and a “neutered” draft to give Israel a “free hand” to continue its operations.
Israel has persistently framed its war on Gaza as one of self-defense, and the US has been following suit to a large extent. However, Biden has started criticizing Israel, as he has stated that the prime minister “has to change, and with his government, this government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move.” He has also said that Israel “has most of the world supporting it, but they’re starting to lose that support by the indiscriminate bombing that takes place.” Despite his thoughts, the US’s Israel policy hasn’t been impacted and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to rage on.
On December 25, a plan was finally set to move toward a ceasefire. Middle Eastern countries including Egypt and Qatar proposed to see Israel fully withdraw from Gaza and free all captives held by Hamas and many Palestinian prisoners. The resolution also highlighted the installation of a united technocratic Palestinian government in the enclave. Al Jazeera’s Bernard Smith reported that the proposal includes several rounds of captive and prisoner exchanges. However, Mohammed Cherkaoui, a professor of conflict resolution at George Mason University, told Al Jazeera that “Palestinians are talking about a full-fledged cease-fire. Israelis are hearing a “truce”, a pause.” Moreover, he stated that Netanyahu would have to pull back from his dream of eradicating Hamas to accept the full deal. As for Hamas, Reuters reported that it has rejected the proposal to relinquish power in the Gaza Strip. Hamas officials then countered this claim, saying that they had no knowledge of the information in the Reuters report. All in all, there is no clear solution to this conflict in the foreseeable future, as both sides still hold on to the power they have and are unwilling to negotiate for peace.