Geneva: A UN humanitarian office spokesperson called on Tuesday for Israel to revoke a decision barring food deliveries to northern Gaza from the UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA), saying people there were facing a “cruel death by famine”.
“The decision must be revoked,” OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told a UN briefing. “You cannot claim to adhere to these international provisions of law when you block UNRWA food convoys.”
On Monday, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas after the United States abstained from the vote, sparking a spat with its ally Israel.
The remaining 14 council members voted for the resolution - proposed by the 10 elected members of the body - that also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. There was applause in the council chamber after the vote.
“This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres posted on social media.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the failure of the US to veto the resolution was a “clear retreat” from its previous position and would hurt Israel’s war efforts and bid to release more than 130 hostages still held by Hamas.
“Our vote does not, and I repeat that does not represent a shift in our policy,” White House spokesperson John Kirby told reporters. “Nothing has changed about our policy. Nothing.”
Following the UN vote, Netanyahu canceled a visit to Washington by a high-level delegation that was due to discuss a planned Israeli military operation in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where some 1.5 million Palestinians have sought shelter.
The US was perplexed by Israel's decision and considered it an overreaction, said a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Washington had been averse to the word ceasefire earlier in the nearly six-month-old war in the Gaza Strip and had used its veto power to shield ally Israel as it retaliated against Hamas for an Oct. 7 attack that Israel says killed 1,200 people.