With more than 1,000 people killed in the Israel-Hamas conflict, the U.N. Security Council held an emergency meeting in New York early Monday to push for “an immediate and unconditional humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.”
The halt in violence would allow for the delivery of urgently needed assistance, the 15-nation council said.
At its midnight meeting, the Security Council also proclaimed its support for “a comprehensive peace based on the vision of a region where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace with secure and recognized borders as envisioned in Security Council resolution 1850 (2008).”
But the statement did not appease the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, who wanted the Security Council to pass a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.
At least 1,062 Palestinians have been killed and 6,037 wounded since the Israeli operation against Hamas in Gaza started almost three weeks ago, Gaza Health Ministry spokesman Dr. Ashraf al-Qedra said.
Hamas and Israel began firing at each other again Sunday after a temporary cease-fire Saturday failed.