UN resolution on Gaza aid 'woefully insufficient', says Amnesty

The UN Security Council resolution adopted on Friday calling for "urgent steps to immediately allow safe and unhindered and expanded humanitarian access" to Gaza and creating "the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities" was not enough, Amnesty International said.

While the resolution is "important" it remained "woefully insufficient" in the face of the carnage and extensive destruction being carried out by Israel, the UK-based rights group's secretary general, Agnès Callamard, said in a statement on Friday.

"This is a much-needed resolution - all efforts to address the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza must be welcomed, but it remains woefully insufficient in the face of the ongoing carnage and extensive destruction wrought by the government of Israel’s attacks in the occupied Gaza Strip," Callamard said.

"Nothing short of an immediate ceasefire is enough to alleviate the mass civilian suffering we are witnessing," Callamard added.

"The vote on the resolution - which was watered down significantly from earlier versions to avoid a US veto fails to call for an immediate halt in the fighting, instead including a call to ‘create conditions’ for a cessation of hostilities. Given the staggering death toll - with more than 20,000 killed in over two months, and the horrifying scale of destruction and devastation in Gaza this is simply unacceptable."

The resolution adopted sought to establish a "mechanism" to expedite deliveries of humanitarian aid to Gaza.

Earlier drafts of the resolution had called for an urgent "cessation of hostilities" or "suspension of hostilities", but this was removed due to objection from the US mission.

"It is disgraceful that the US was able to stall and use the threat of its veto power to force the UN Security Council to weaken a much-needed call for an immediate end to attacks by all parties," Callamard said.

The US had already vetoed two previous draft resolutions calling for a halt in the fighting since 7 October 2023.

The US vetoed a draft resolution put forward by Brazil calling for humanitarian pauses on 18 October. 

Then on 8 December vetoed a draft resolution backed by almost all other Security Council members and dozens of other nations demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. 

On 12 December, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a non-binding resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. Out of 193, 153 member states voted in favour and 10, including the US and Israel, against, with 23 abstentions.

Israel's indiscriminate and relentless attacks on the besieged strip have killed over 19,000 people, including more than 8,000 children and over 6,500 women.