Egypt regrets UN failure to call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

Palestinians from the Shuja’iyya neighborhood leave their homes with their belongings and travel to safer areas in order to protect themselves from Israeli bombardment and to ensure their safety in Gaza City, Gaza on February 20, 2024 [Omar Qattaa – Anadolu Agency]

Egypt regretted the repeated failure of the UN Security Council to issue a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, Anadolu Agency reports.

The US vetoed, Tuesday, the latest attempt at the Council to demand an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza where the official death toll rapidly approaches 30,000.

The draft resolution put forward by Algeria received widespread support in the Council with 13 of its 15 member states voting in favour. The US was the sole nation to vote against it, while the UK, another permanent member, abstained.

“Egypt considers the obstruction of a resolution demanding a ceasefire in an armed conflict that has claimed the lives of over 29,000 civilians, mostly children and women, a shameful precedent in the Security Council’s history of handling armed conflicts and wars,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It warned that the UN failure carries a moral and humanitarian responsibility for the continued Palestinian civilian bloodshed.

“Egypt strongly condemns the selectivity and double standards displayed by the international community in dealing with wars and armed conflicts in different regions,” the Ministry said.

Cairo said it will continue to demand an immediate ceasefire to ensure the protection of Palestinian lives and ensure the continuous delivery of humanitarian aid into the Strip.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by Hamas on 7 October. The ensuing Israeli bombardment has killed more than 29,195 and injured over 69,170 others.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85 per cent of the Territory’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60 per cent of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

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