UNSC rejects Moscow-drafted resolution on Israel-Hamas war

United Nations, October 17

The UN Security Council has rejected a draft resolution proposed by Russia that called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza but made no mention of Hamas’ attack on Israel. The 15-nation Council met on Monday evening to vote on the Russian-led draft resolution, the first such text that was considered by the powerful UN body, amid an escalating war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

The one-page draft resolution failed to garner enough votes and was not adopted by the Council, which is expected to meet again soon to vote on a rival draft resolution circulated by Brazil, the Council President for the month of October.

With humanitarian aid blocked at Egyptian border, authorities said Gaza drew closer to a total collapse. Residents and humanitarian groups pleaded for water, food and fuel for dying generators.

France’s foreign ministry confirmed the death of 21 French citizens in Hamas attacks 10 days ago. It said 11 French citizens had been missing. Sri Lanka confirmed the death of its female caregiver in Israel.

Meanwhile, clashes erupted again on the border between Lebanon and Israel when an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon landed in israel’s Metula town, injuring three people, according to the Ziv Medical Centre in Safed. Israel responded by striking several areas along the border in southern Lebanon with artillery fire and white phosphorus. Israel’s military said it killed four people who had tried to cross the fence bordering Lebanon.

At the same time, Israeli military showed mediapersons a grisly montage of video and photographs of Hamas’s massacre of hundreds of civilians last week, highlighting the savagery of the attack and the ease with which the militant group appeared to operate inside Israel.

A spokesperson of the Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said its 13,000-strong staff was “terrified and tired”. She described the situation in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip as a “hellhole”. The UNRWA has lost 14 of its staff members in 10 days.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called for a humanitarian corridor to be opened into the Gaza Strip, saying urgent help was needed there. — Agencies

Gaza yet to get aid

• Truckloads of aid idled at Egypt’s border with Gaza as residents and humanitarian groups pleaded for water, food and fuel for dying generators, saying the territory was nearing total collapse.
• In Gaza, hospitals were on the verge of losing electricity, threatening the lives of thousands of patients, and hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced from their homes searched for bread.