The United Nations Security Council subsequently passed a resolution to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza multiple delays last week as the United States moved to tone down language surrounding calls for a ceasefire.

The resolution, which calls for steps “to create the conditions for a sustained cessation of hostilities,” was adopted on Friday with 13 votes in favour, with no dissent and with the United States and Russia abstaining.

The vote came amid international calls to end the months-long conflict as Israeli forces attack Gaza in one of the most destructive campaigns in modern history, reaching humanitarian conditions in the besieged strip critical levels.

More than 90 percent of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have been displaced and conditions have worsened under Israeli siege and bombardment been described described by UN officials as “hell on earth”.

Intense negotiations took place last week as other member states sought language that would avoid U.S. objections that had doomed previous resolutions on Gaza in the 15-member body, where the U.S. is one of five countries veto.

The original draft called for “an urgent and sustained cessation of hostilities” and gave the United Nations greater control over aid deliveries to Gaza. The adopted resolution opts for less ambiguous language regarding a ceasefire and maintains Israel’s control over all aid.

“It was tough, but we did it,” U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote.

While a handful of aid trucks have brought much-needed aid to Gaza, aid groups say a real response to Gaza’s humanitarian crisis will not be possible as long as hostilities continue.

“The real problem is that the way Israel is conducting this offensive is creating massive obstacles to the distribution of humanitarian aid in Gaza. An effective relief operation in Gaza requires security, personnel who can work safely, logistical capacity and the resumption of business activities. “These four elements do not exist,” UN chief said Antonio Guterres told reporters after the vote.

Before the vote, Russia proposed an amendment to strengthen language surrounding a ceasefire, saying it would Draft resolution had been “castrated” by the USA.

“By approving, the Council would essentially grant Israeli forces complete freedom of movement for the further evacuation of the Gaza Strip,” Russia’s UN Ambassador Vasily Nebenzia told the Council before the vote.

Thomas-Greenfield accused her Russian counterpart of hypocrisy, citing Russia’s destructive invasion of Ukraine that began in February 2022.

But the US is struggling with this Accusations of double standards Critics say the U.S. has railed against Russia for violations of international law in Ukraine for months while providing Israel with weapons and diplomatic support even as the country faces similar accusations over its behavior in Gaza.

The US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire earlier this month and was among the few dissenting votes when it did UN General Assembly passed a ceasefire resolution by an overwhelming majority last week.

“The vast majority of members of the Security Council and the General Assembly all want a ceasefire and a complete halt to the bombing of Gaza to facilitate aid,” reported Al Jazeera correspondent Gabriel Elizondo from UN headquarters.

Earlier this week, the United Nations called for an investigation into allegations of the killing unarmed Palestinians by Israeli troops in the strip as well as hospitals, UN schools, medical staff, mosques, etc churches were also targeted.

Israel has said it is working to dismantle Hamas, the Palestinian armed group that rules Gaza and launched a deadly attack on southern Israel on October 7 that killed more than 1,000 people, most of them civilians, and more than 240 were captured caught.

More than 20,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, have been killed since the current round of fighting began.