UN approves watered-down resolution on Gaza aid but falls short of calling for immediate ceasefire

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has passed a resolution on Gaza, but falls short of calling for an immediate ceasefire, ITV News US Correspondent Dan Rivers reports

13 nations voted in favour of the resolution, Russia and the United States opted to abstain, and no countries voted against the motion.

Foreign Secretary Lord David Cameron said there is "greater unity" over the response to the crisis in Gaza after the resolution was voted in, but he also repeated previous calls for steps towards a "sustainable ceasefire".

Member states spent days deliberating the details of the resolution amid the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The US repeatedly pushed back against called for an immediate ceasefire and spoke out against giving the UN sole responsibility for inspecting aid deliveries. Israel insisted that it needs to be able to screen whatever is entering Gaza.

The country had previously vetoed a resolution that demanded an immediate ceasefire, despite it being backed by the majority of members of the Security Council.

The US said it had used its veto powers because the Council had refused to condemn Hamas.

Friday's vote had been delayed multiple times throughout the week as the Unites States carried out background negotiations with key allies and Arab notions in an attempt to avoid another veto.

Speaking to reporters late on Wednesday, US President Joe Biden said: "We’re negotiating right now at the UN the contours of a resolution that we may be able to agree to.”

The vote comes as the humanitarian situation in Gaza becomes more desperate. More than 20,000 people in the region have been killed, according to Hamas authorities, and around 1.9 million people, 85% of the population, are thought to have been driven from their homes as a result of the fighting.

Half of the people in Gaza are thought to be staving, according to the UN's World Food Programme.

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