New York — The UN Security Council will convene tonight to discuss the ongoing crisis in Gaza. The meeting comes at the request of the United Arab Emirates, the Council’s only Arab member, amid continued Israeli air strikes and alleged ground incursions into the region.
According to Jordan News Agency, Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner of the United Nations Agency to Support Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and a senior director from the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), will brief the Council on the severe situation in Gaza and the looming threat of a breakdown in civil order. Last Friday, the United Nations General Assembly approved a Jordanian resolution, endorsed by Arab countries, demanding “an immediate, permanent, and sustainable humanitarian truce leading to the cessation of hostilities.” Since the beginning of this month, the Security Council has failed to adopt two Russian resolutions due to vetoes or insufficient support, while the United States vetoed a Brazilian resolution and China and Russia vetoed an American draft.