Security Council 2023 Round-Up – War in Gaza – UN Press Release

Middle East

Question of Palestine

Meetings: 5 January, 18 January, 20 February, 22 March, 25 April, 24 May, 27 June, 27 July, 21 August, 27 September, 16 October, 18 October, 18 October, 24 October, 25 October, 30 October, 31 October, 10 November, 15 November, 22 November, 29 November, 8 December, 8 December, 19 December, 21 December, 29 December.

Resolutions: 2712, 2720.  Not adopted: 772, 795. Vetoed: 773, 792, 970.

Presidential Statements: S/PRST/2023/1.

The year 2023 proved to be the deadliest for Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory since the UN began recording fatalities in 2005.  With a new coalition Government in Israel accelerating settlement activity, the Council proceeded with monthly meetings on the Palestinian Question that managed rather than solve the intractable conflict.  However, the events of 7 October, when Hamas fighters invaded Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking 240 hostages, disrupted that paradigm.  As Israel commenced retaliatory military operations, with catastrophic results to civilians and civilian infrastructure, the 15-nation organ proved slow to react publicly and when it met to act, its efforts were stymied by a lack of consensus, as borne out by multiple vetoes and non-adoptions.

Following Israel’s new Minister for National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir’s visit on 3 January to holy sites in Jerusalem within days of his appointment, on 5 January, the Council was briefed by Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Middle East, Asia and the Pacific in the Departments of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs and Peace Operations, who said the visit was particularly inflammatory, given the Minister’s past advocacy for changes to the status quo.  The Palestinian Authority had condemned the visit, while Israel’s Prime Minister, as well as senior Government officials, emphasized commitment to upholding the status quo, he noted.  Still, he warned that any incident or tension at the holy sites could spill over and cause violence throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in Israel and elsewhere in the region.

Briefing the Council at a quarterly open debate on the Palestinian Question on 18 January, Tor Wennesland, Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, said that the dangerous cycle of violence that continued to persist amid increased political tensions and a long-stalled peace process, was extracting a “devastating toll”.  The global community must not lose sight of the ultimate goal: to end the occupation, resolve the conflict and realize a two-State solution, he said, emphasizing: “Preventing more loss of life and reversing negative trends on the ground must be our collective priority.”

On 20 February the Council adopted a presidential statement — its first on the issue in more than eight years — expressing its deep concern and dismay with Israel’s 12 February announcement of further expansion of settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  It also reiterated that continuing Israeli settlement activities were dangerously imperilling the viability of the two-State solution based on the 1967 lines.  Mr. Wennesland told the Council that the recent surge in violence included some of the deadliest incidents in nearly 20 years and called for responsible leadership to match security efforts with political steps that could halt the negative slide.  Leni Stenseth, Deputy Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), observed that competing global priorities and shifting regional dynamics had “almost annihilated” any remaining attention to the plight of Palestine refugees as the political, socioeconomic and security conditions surrounding them continued to deteriorate and violence in the West Bank hampered UNRWA operations.  Moreso, although UNRWA remained one of the few standing pillars of stability in the Middle East, the lack of funding put it in an impossible situation.

Mr. Wennesland, returning to the Council on 22 March during the converging Ramadan, Easter and Passover holidays, called for the status quo at the holy sites in Jerusalem to be respected at a “holy and sensitive time” for the region’s three major religions.  He spotlighted two diplomatic meetings, including the first in Aqaba, Jordan, where senior officials from Jordan, Egypt, Israel, State of Palestine and the United States committed to de-escalating the situation on the ground and preventing further violence, including by upholding the status quo at the holy sites.  “If implemented, the steps outlined in Aqaba would be an important start to reversing negative trends on the ground,” he said.

On 25 April, during a quarterly open debate, Mr. Wennesland reported on events that began on 4 and 5 April, when Israeli security forces entered the al-Qibli prayer hall of the Aqsa Mosque compound and forcibly removed Palestinians who were barricaded inside. Describing the incidents of violence that followed in the occupied West Bank, including the killing by Israeli security forces of 17 Palestinians, including 2 children, and the injuring of 4 women and 38 children, he expressed concern about the uptick in violence and inflammatory actions.  He called for the status quo of holy sites to be respected and for security forces to exercise maximum restraint, adding:  “I am appalled that children continue to be the victims of violence.”

Mr. Wennesland briefed the 15-nation organ on 24 May, after another deadly surge in violence on 9 May following the death of a Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader from an 86-day hunger strike in an Israeli jail.  In an exchange of air strikes and rocket launches, 10 Palestinian civilians were killed and more than 1,100 others were displaced.  While a ceasefire — reached on 13 May — was holding, he said that both sides must engage to reset a trajectory out of the cycle of violence, adding:  “This escalation compounded the already dire humanitarian situation in the Strip.”

On 27 June, Mr. Wennesland warned the Council that deepening occupation, settlement-expansion, high levels of violence against civilians and the absence of a political horizon were rapidly eroding hope among Palestinians and Israelis.  Citing the recent approval of amendments by the Israeli Government to its settlement-planning procedures that could expedite advancement of settlement plans, he expressed alarm over the “extreme levels of settler violence”, recalling that, as the occupying Power, Israel has an obligation to protect Palestinians and their property in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.  “The choice is clear:  either continue along the downward spiral of violence and provocations leading to a political vacuum; or turn towards constructive dialogue linked to concrete actions that can create hope,” he stressed.

Mr. Khiari returned to the Council on 27 July, amid a deterioration in the situation in the occupied West Bank, following military operations by Israeli security forces in Jenin refugee camp on 3 and 4 July, in which 12 Palestinians, including 4 children, were killed and more than 140 injured — the most in a single operation in the West Bank since the United Nations began tracking casualties in 2005.  Reporting that, from 27 June through 24 July, 25 Palestinians were killed, while, according to Israel, two Israeli security forces personnel were killed, he stressed:  “This deterioration is taking place alongside ongoing unilateral steps that undermine a two-State solution, the absence of a peace process and the continuing economic challenges facing Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority.”

On 21 August, Mr. Wennesland reported that Palestinians and Israelis were being killed and injured in incidents of near-daily violence, with the year’s fatalities already surpassing 2022’s annual figures. The lack of progress towards a political horizon had left a dangerous, volatile vacuum filled with extremists on both sides, he warned.  As well, he expressed concern over the Palestinian Authority’s dire fiscal situation and the funding shortages faced by UN agencies, which threatened to worsen the plight of the most vulnerable Palestinians.  Providing an update on settlement-expansion, which continued unabated, he called on Israeli authorities to end demolitions of Palestinian-owned property and the displacement and eviction of Palestinians, and to approve plans that would enable them to build legally and address their development needs.

Settlement-expansion took centre stage again on 27 September, with Mr. Wenneslandreporting that such activities had been expedited, following plans advanced by Israeli authorities for 6,300 housing units in West Bank’s Area C — administered by Israel — and 3,580 housing units in East Jerusalem, annexed by Israel in 1980.  As a result, many Palestinians, including children, were leaving their communities, citing violence by settlers and shrinking grazing land.  Stating that 68 Palestinians were killed by Israeli security forces and 10 Israelis by Palestinians over the previous weeks, he echoed United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres’ call on the Government of Israel to cease settlement activity and the demolition and seizure of Palestinian structures.

On 7 October, fighters from Hamas and other Palestinian militant groups crossed over into southern Israel, launching “Operation al-Aqsa Deluge”, killing 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals and returning to Gaza, taking 240 civilians and soldiers hostage. On the same day, Israel’s Security Cabinet declared a state of war, launching “Operation Swords of Iron”, targeting 5,000 locations across Gaza, which they said were Hamas sites.  The Council met on 8 October in consultations, but it would take another eight days for them to hold the first public meeting.  At that point, Israel had announced a complete siege of Gaza, blocking all entry of goods, including electricity, water, food and fuel.  On 13 October, more than a million Gazans in the north of the Strip were told to leave their homes within 24 hours through paper notices that dropped from the sky.

Nine days into Israel’s retaliatory bombardment of Gaza, the Council convened several times in a single week, to discuss the issue and attempt — unsuccessfully — to take action, including on 16 October, when it failed to adopt a draft resolution put forth by the Russian Federation, which would have called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Receiving five votes in favour (China, Gabon, Mozambique, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates), four delegations — including those of two permanent members — voted against it (France, Japan, United Kingdom, United States), while the six remaining members (Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta, Switzerland) abstained.  Following the vote, the United States’ delegate stressed that it was the Council’s responsibility to address the crisis, unequivocally condemn Hamas and support Israel’s right to self-defence under the Charter of the United Nations.  The United Kingdom’s delegate added she could not support a document that failed to condemn Hamas’ attacks.  Israel’s delegate urged the Council to support his country’s right to defend itself for its self-preservation.  Meanwhile, the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, pointing to Gaza’s collapsed humanitarian and health system, as well as the displacement of 1 million people, called on the Council to be guided by international law, with no exception or exceptionalism.

On 18 October, in the aftermath of an attack on Al-Ahli Arab Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip that killed hundreds of people, including civilians and health-care workers, the Council, due to a veto cast by the United States, failed to adopt a resolution put forth by Brazil’s delegation that would have called for humanitarian pauses to allow full, safe and unhindered access for United Nations agencies.  However, the text garnered the support of 12 Council members, including two permanent members (China, France), with two other permanent members (United Kingdom, Russian Federation) abstaining.  Brazil’s representative, voicing regret that the Council was yet again unable to adopt a resolution on the conflict, stressed that hundreds of thousands of civilians in Gaza, having waited for far too long to no avail, could not wait any longer.  Meanwhile, the United States’ delegate, pointing to President Joseph R. Biden’s trip to the region, said that the Council needed to let her country’s diplomacy “play out”.

Meeting a second time on 18 October, the Council heard from Mr. Wennesland, who expressed fear that the world was at the brink of a dangerous abyss that could change the trajectory of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, if not the entire Middle East.  Condemning the massacre by Hamas on 7 October and calling for efforts to end the ongoing hostilities, he warned that the risk of the conflict’s expansion was very real and extremely dangerous.  Highlighting his diplomatic engagements with leaders in Egypt to facilitate humanitarian assistance through Rafah crossing, he stressed the need for a long-term political solution as the only way to end the violence and reiterated that “perpetual management of conflict without addressing underlying issues” was not sustainable.  The Council also heard from Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, who voiced horror at the attack on Al Ahli Arab Hospital in the northern Gaza Strip and echoed calls for a fact-based inquiry on the incident.  In the 11 days since 7 October, more than 3,000 people in Gaza had been killed, including 15 UNRWA staff and Red Cross and Red Crescent personnel, while 1 million people had fled their homes. Essential supplies, including fuel, food, water and medical items were running low, he said, calling for safe humanitarian access and a ceasefire to ease “epic human suffering”.

During a day-long ministerial debate on 24 October, Secretary-General Guterres called for an immediate ceasefire, for humanitarian aid without restrictions, for civilians and hospitals to be protected, and for the inviolability of UN facilities sheltering more than 600,000 Palestinians to be respected.  “Even war has rules,” he declared, adding that no party to an armed conflict was above international humanitarian law.  Mr. Wennesland reported that the Israeli’s ensuing air assault in the Strip had killed 5,000 Palestinians, including over 1,100 women, 2,000 children as well as journalists, medical workers and first responders; over 1 million Palestinians had been displaced.  Lynn Hastings, Deputy Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, cited figures that at least 42 per cent of all housing units in the Strip had been destroyed or damaged.  As well, hospitals were on the brink of collapse, with doctors operating without anaesthesia, while 16 health workers had been killed on duty.  She called on Israel to bring back water and electricity supplies, to work with her team to bring fuel into Gaza and for the opening of crossings for the movement of goods and people.

The following day, on 25 October, the Council met again to address the war and humanitarian crisis in Gaza, failing to adopt two competing draft resolutions.  The first, from the United States, which would have condemned the terrorist attacks by Hamas on 7 October, called for the release of hostages, reaffirmed the rights of States to self-defence and called for humanitarian pauses, was defeated by a vote of 10 in favour to 3 against (China, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates), with 2 abstentions (Brazil, Mozambique).  The second, by the Russian Federation, which would have called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, condemned all violence and hostilities against civilians, condemned Hamas’ 7 October attacks and the taking of civilian hostages, and urged the rescission of the order for civilians and UN staff to evacuate all northern Gaza and relocate to the south, was also defeated by a vote of 4 in favour (China, Gabon, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates) and 2 against (United Kingdom, United States), with 9 abstentions (Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, France, Ghana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Switzerland).

On 30 October, the Council was briefed by Philippe Lazzarini, Commissioner-General of UNRWA, who described the Israel Defense Forces’ bombardment of the Strip “shocking” and the unfolding human tragedy “unbearable”. Pointing out that nearly 3,200 children had been killed in Gaza in just three weeks, he warned:  “An entire population is being dehumanized.” Catherine Russell, Executive Director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), reported that more than 420 children were being killed or injured in Gaza each day — “a number which should shake each of us to our core”.  Lisa Doughten, Director of the Humanitarian Financing and Resource Mobilization Division, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, speaking on behalf of Mr. Griffiths, voiced concern about allegations of military installations close to hospitals and Israel’s request that hospitals be evacuated.  However, she pointed out:  “There is nowhere safe for patients to go, and for those on life support and babies in incubators, moving would almost certainly be a death sentence.”

As bombardments intensified in northern Gaza and Israeli ground forces reportedly encircled four hospitals, including Al-Shifa hospital, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) on 10 November told the Council that the situation in hospitals in Gaza was “impossible to describe”, with corridors crammed with the injured, the sick and the dying, morgues overflowing and surgical procedures conducted without anaesthesia.  Since 7 October, WHO verified more than 250 attacks on health-care facilities in Gaza and the West Bank, in addition to 25 attacks on similar sites in Israel.  The Council also heard from Marwan Jilani, Director General of the Palestine Red Crescent Society, who, citing attacks on four hospitals in Gaza over the previous 24 hours, said they were being deliberately targeted in a desperate attempt to force the civilian population out.  “Displaced people at the hospital are getting shot at, as we speak,” he stressed.

On 15 November, the Council adopted resolution 2712 (2023) by a vote of 12 in favour to none against, with 3 abstentions (Russian Federation, United Kingdom, United States), by which it called for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors through the Gaza Strip to facilitate the provision of essential goods and services. On the same day, the Israel Defense Forces stormed Al-Shifa hospital, in search of what it said were tunnels used by Hamas beneath the complex.  It withdrew nine days later, stating that it had destroyed them.

Less than a week later, on 22 November, the Council heard from several senior UN officials who described the disastrous impact of the ongoing war in Gaza on women and children.  Sima Sami Bahous, Executive Director of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN-Women) pointed out that 67 per cent of the more than 14,000 people killed in Gaza since 7 October were women and children.  Describing the plight of pregnant women and mothers, she said: “Women in Gaza have told us that they pray for peace, but that if peace does not come, they pray for a quick death, in their sleep, with their children in their arms.”  Meanwhile, Ms. Russell called for an urgent humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, stating that pauses were not enough for children to survive.  The Council also heard from Natalia Kanem, Executive Director of the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), who reported that 5,500 pregnant women were expected to give birth in December in Gaza amidst destruction and fear, as well as multiple health risks, due to overcrowded conditions and insufficient clean water and sanitation.

The Council held a ministerial-level meeting on 29 November that coincided with the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.  Briefing the 15-nation organ, Secretary-General Guterres stated:  “In a matter of weeks, a far greater number of children have been killed by Israeli military operations in Gaza than the total number of children killed during any year, by any party to a conflict, since I have been Secretary-General.”  Recalling resolution 2712 (2023), and its demand about international law obligations regarding the protection of civilians, especially children, he underscored the importance of a true humanitarian ceasefire, as well as the two-State solution.  Mr. Wennesland welcomed the agreement to pause the fighting and secure the release of Israeli hostages and Palestinian prisoners, while emphasizing the need for a political and security framework to end the fighting between Israel and Hamas. He also emphasized the need to stabilize the situation in occupied West Bank, where intensified settler violence was inflaming tensions displacing more Palestinians, warning:  “The situation is boiling and getting worse rapidly.”

The Council met again on 8 December, following Secretary-General Guterres’ engagement of Article 99 in Chapter XV of the Charter — the first time he used this measure since taking office in 2017 — to “bring to attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion, may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security”. He informed the Council that the humanitarian support system in Gaza was at a high risk of total collapse.  “We are at a breaking point [and] the situation is simply becoming untenable,” he stressed.  Citing information from the World Food Programme (WFP) that Gazans were at serious risk of starvation, he underscored that the international community must do everything it could to end their ordeal.  He urged members of the Security Council to exert pressure to avert a humanitarian catastrophe” and reiterated his call for “an urgent humanitarian ceasefire”.

Meeting again on 8 December, the Council — due to a veto cast by the United States, a permanent member — failed to adopt a text put forth by the United Arab Emirates, which would have demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access.  The text received the support of 13 Council members, including 3 permanent members — China, France and the Russian Federation — with another permanent member, the United Kingdom, abstaining.

Meeting on 22 December, following several days’ deliberations, deferrals and diplomatic engagements, the Council adopted resolution 2720 (2023) by a recorded vote of 13 in favour to none against, with 2 abstentions (United States, Russian Federation), by which it requested the Secretary-General to appoint a Senior Humanitarian and Reconstruction Coordinator for the Gaza Strip as it demanded the parties to the conflict to allow, facilitate and enable the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale to Palestinian civilians throughout that territory.  By other terms, it determined that the Coordinator would be responsible for facilitating, coordinating, monitoring and verifying, in Gaza, the humanitarian nature of all humanitarian relief consignments provided through States which are not parties to the conflict.  Ahead of the vote, members failed to adopt an amendment put forth by the Russian Federation, owing to a veto cast by the United States.  The vote was 10 in favour (Brazil, China, Ecuador, France, Gabon, Ghana, Malta, Mozambique, Russian Federation, United Arab Emirates) to 1 against (United States), with 4 abstentions (Albania, Japan, Switzerland, United Kingdom).  Had it been adopted, the text would have had the Council call for an urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities.

The Council reconvened on 29 December, with Mr. Khiari reporting that, since 7 October, tensions in the West Bank between Israeli security forces and Palestinians were escalating, resulting in 304 Palestinians fatalities, including 79 children, and 4 Israeli fatalities.  Israel was continuing its intense ground operations in Gaza, while Hamas was continuing to fire rockets from Gaza into Israel.  Settler violence remained a grave concern as well.  “Civilians from both sides — particularly the Gaza Strip — continue to bear the brunt of this conflict,” he said.  Describing a slew of threats to regional stability, including strikes in Lebanon and Israel, he warned of a “high risk of regional spillover of the conflict”, given the myriad actors involved.  The Council also heard from Marwan Muasher, Vice President for Studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and former Deputy Prime Minister of Jordan, who outlined an eight-point political plan to end the occupation; and from Itay Epshtain, Special Advisor and Senior Humanitarian Law and Policy Consultant at the Norwegian Refugee Council, who, noting that all parties showed a reckless disregard for the peremptory norms of international law, stressed:  “Peace is the only viable solution for civilians in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel.”

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Maintenance of International Peace and Security

Meeting: 31 October,