Hamas-Israel conflict on the UN Security Council meeting table

Israel reacts strongly to Mr. Guterres' statement

Speaking at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on October 24, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said there was no excuse for Hamas's "horrific" attack on southern Israel on October 7 but also warned against "collective punishment" against Palestinians, according to AFP.

"I am deeply concerned about the clear violations of international humanitarian law we are witnessing in Gaza. Let me be clear: No party to the armed conflict is above international humanitarian law," Guterres said, without naming Israel. Guterres also said that Hamas attacks "do not happen in isolation" because Palestinians have "suffered 56 years of suffocating occupation."

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stands next to a plane carrying aid to Palestinians at Al Arish airport in Egypt on October 20.

Mr. Guterres's remarks angered Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen. Mr. Cohen pointed at Mr. Guterres, recounting graphic stories of civilians killed in a bloody Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7. Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, called on social media network X to call for Mr. Guterres' resignation.

US proposes draft resolution on Hamas-Israel conflict, Russia immediately reacts

Last week, the US vetoed a draft resolution on the Hamas-Israel conflict, arguing that it did not adequately support Israel's right to respond to Hamas.

At a meeting on October 24, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked the UN Security Council to support a new US-led resolution that "includes substantive responses". The new draft would protect "the inherent right of all states to self-defense" and call for compliance with international law, according to AFP. The new resolution would also support a "humanitarian pause" to allow aid to reach the Gaza Strip, rather than a full ceasefire.

Reuters quoted a senior US official as saying: "While we remain opposed to a ceasefire, we believe that a humanitarian pause related to aid that would still allow Israel to conduct military operations in self-defense is worth considering."

Meanwhile, Russia was quick to say it would oppose the US draft. "The whole world is expecting from the Security Council a call for a quick and unconditional ceasefire. This is exactly what the US draft is not. Therefore, we do not see any point in it and we cannot support it," Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia told the UN Security Council.

Russian Ambassador to the United Nations Vassily Nebenzia speaks at a United Nations Security Council meeting before voting on a Brazil-sponsored draft resolution during a meeting on the conflict between Israel and Hamas at the United Nations headquarters in New York, U.S., on October 18.

The new draft resolution was also criticized by the US' regional ally Egypt, according to AFP. "We are surprised by the new attempts to pass a resolution that does not include any call for a ceasefire to prevent the situation from deteriorating further, which could put the region in a dangerous situation," Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said.

Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki of the Palestinian Authority, run by Hamas' rivals, called the UN Security Council's inaction "unforgivable". Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said: "The Security Council must take a clear stance to reassure two billion Arabs and Muslims that international law will be applied."

Also at the meeting at the UN Security Council on October 24, Iran's Ambassador to the United Nations Amir Saeid Iravani said that US Secretary of State Antony Blinken had tried to falsely blame Iran for the Israel-Hamas conflict. "Our commitment to peace and stability in the region remains unchanged. The US has exacerbated the conflict by openly allying with the aggressor at the expense of innocent Palestinians," Mr. Iravani said.

Secretary of State Blinken stressed on October 24 that Washington does not seek conflict with Iran but warned that it will act quickly and decisively if Tehran or its proxy forces attack US personnel anywhere, according to Reuters.

"Ultimate suffering"

Hamas militants stormed into Israel on October 7, attacking mostly civilian targets, killing at least 1,400 people and taking more than 220 hostages, according to Israeli officials. Meanwhile, the Hamas-run Gaza Health Authority said more than 5,700 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed across the Gaza Strip in Israeli retaliatory bombings, according to AFP.

Palestinians gather around residential buildings destroyed in Israeli attacks in the Gaza Strip city of Zahra

Mr. Guterres, who visited the border crossing between Egypt and Gaza in person, welcomed the arrival of three aid convoys in Gaza since October 21. However, Mr. Guterres said it was “a drop in an ocean of need,” as the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees warned it would be forced to halt operations on October 25 due to fuel shortages.

"To alleviate extreme suffering, make it easier and safer to deliver aid and facilitate the release of hostages, I reiterate my call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire," Mr. Guterres said.

However, Israel has rejected calls to halt its offensive on Gaza, saying it would only allow Hamas to regroup, according to AFP.

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