After five days of tense negotiations at the heart of the United Nations to avoid another American veto, the UN Security Council agreed on Friday, December 22, to demand the "safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale" to the Gaza Strip. But the resolution, which was largely watered down during the discussions, does not call for a ceasefire, a condition that the United States refused, in line with the demands of its ally, Israel.

At the last minute, Moscow wanted to restore the reference to a "cessation of hostilities," but Washington opposed this. The two countries therefore abstained during the vote, while the resolution was adopted by the 13 other members of the Council. The resolution calls for "urgent steps" to allow expanded humanitarian access and "to create the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities."

"We know it's not a perfect text, but only a ceasefire will put an end to the suffering" of Gazans, conceded Lana Nusseibeh, ambassador of the United Arab Emirates and coordinator of the negotiations.

The negotiations prevented a third American veto on a resolution concerning Gaza since Hamas's attack against Israel on October 7, at a time when the death toll in the Palestinian enclave passed the 20,000 mark, according to local authorities.

The vote, initially scheduled for Monday, was postponed every day until Friday, with American demands leading to a text constantly revised downwards. "The pressure from Benjamin Netanyahu on the White House has been incredibly powerful," said a diplomat close to the negotiations. Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US ambassador who defended the country's abstention – including before President Joe Biden – nevertheless stressed it was "hard to overstate how urgent" it is to ensure that humanitarian workers and aid can go into Gaza. Her Israeli counterpart Gilad Erdan thanked the United States for "standing on Irsael's side" in these negotiations and "maintaining defined red lines."

"The phrase 'conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities' is fantastically opaque," said Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group think tank. "You could interpret it as calling for talks with Hamas or an unconditional surrender by Hamas, or pretty much anything in between."

The Palestinian representative at the UN, Riyad Mansour, expressed surprise that it had taken the Security Council seventy-five days "to finally utter the words 'cessation of hostilities'."

"This resolution is a step in the right direction," he added. "It must be implemented and must be accompanied by massive pressure for an immediate cease-fire."

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