Security Council Debates Gaza Crisis as UN Chief Sees ‘Glimmer of Hope’ in Two-State Momentum

23 September 2025

10003rd Meeting (PM)

Amid Israel’s intensifying ground offensive in Gaza City and the international community’s growing recognition of the State of Palestine, the Security Council met again today to address the deepening crisis in the Middle East and to underscore the urgency of a two-State solution.

The meeting comes on the heels of the High-Level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, which on 22 September further galvanized broad international support for the rights and sovereignty of a Palestinian State. (For background, see Press Release PAL/2251.)

“We are confronting one of the darkest chapters of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict,” said António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, noting that violence has only escalated across the Occupied Palestinian Territory nearly two years after “the horrific Hamas terror attacks of 7 October [2023] and the devastating Israeli military response”. The onslaught in Gaza City, he warned, is deepening an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis, trapping civilians and hostages “under relentless bombardment and deprived of food, water, electricity and medicine”.

“Famine is a reality,” he emphasized, with people constantly displaced and starving. “To call this situation untenable and morally and legally indefensible does not begin to capture the scale of human suffering.” Despite repeated appeals for an immediate permanent ceasefire, the unconditional release of all hostages and unhindered humanitarian access, UN resolutions continue to be ignored and international humanitarian law violated.

Violence from Gaza is spreading into the Occupied West Bank and other countries in the region, he said, citing the 9 September Israeli attack in Qatar, which violated that country’s sovereignty and undermined efforts by Qatar, Egypt and the United States to secure a ceasefire and hostage release.

“The viability of a two-State solution is steadily eroding,” he warned, citing relentless settlement-expansion, de facto annexation, forced displacement and cycles of deadly violence, including by extremist settlers. Israel’s recent approval of settlement construction in the E1 area is “especially alarming”, he said, stressing that “Israeli settlements are not just a political issue — they are a flagrant violation of international law”, he stressed.

Moreover, Israel’s withholding of clearance revenues, “the suffocation of the Palestinian economy” and sharply declining donor aid have left the Palestinian Authority unable to pay salaries or deliver basic services. He called for urgent financial and political support “to stabilize the Palestinian Authority and preserve its viability as a partner for peace”.

However, he highlighted “a glimmer of hope” seen in yesterday’s high-level conference on a two-State solution, as more countries, including permanent Council members France and the United Kingdom, announced their recognition of Palestinian statehood. “This is the clearest path to a two-State solution,” he said, urging the international community to seize this momentum. The post-conflict reality in Gaza must be anchored in international law, reject ethnic cleansing and aim for a viable two-State solution, he added.

80 Council Meetings Served to Embolden Hamas, Says Representative

The United States’ representative said: “It is deeply regrettable that Council members have opted to convene this high-level UN Security Council briefing on Gaza on Rosh Hashanah — the Jewish new year — knowing full well that that decision excludes Israel.” Unfortunately, the main outcome of the Council’s over 80 meetings on this issue since 7 October 2023, he said, has been to embolden Hamas and undermine negotiations aimed at freeing the hostages and ending the war. There will be no peace in the Middle East as long as Hamas exists, he stressed.

Countering calls to strengthen the Palestinian Authority, he noted that “at this point, there is no credible partner for peace”. The Palestinian Authority leaders are absent in New York because they failed to meet their Oslo commitments, including renouncing terrorism and violence, and resolving issues through direct negotiations with Israel. He called on Council members and the UN to “change its course, to focus instead on how to prevent Hamas from ever doing this again and how to eliminate them”. He reiterated support for a negotiated settlement that would lead to the release of all remaining hostages. “The fighting must end,” he said, so the international community can concentrate on building a new Gaza that embraces peace and co-existence and rejects terrorism and violence.

However, Council members warned against the United States’ repeated use of its veto, which most recently, on 18 September, blocked a ceasefire resolution. Washington, D.C., should cast aside “rigid positions” which only benefit its closest ally, said the representative of the Russian Federation. China’s delegate, while urging Israel to cease all military actions in Gaza without delay, expressed “deep disappointment” over the recent veto.

Lars Løkke Rasmussen, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark, voiced deep regret that the ceasefire resolution, which it had coordinated on behalf of the European Union, did not receive the support of all 15 Council members. The Council should be able to make demands on Israel to change its course and end the war in Gaza, he said, stressing that “setting aside political differences to save lives” should be “the bare minimum that we can do”.

End Genocide, Says Palestine’s Delegate

“Ending the genocide in Gaza is the utmost priority, one that can suffer no delay,” underscored the Permanent Observer for the State of Palestine, stressing that “only an immediate ceasefire can save lives”. “Palestinians are not lesser beings,” he said, emphasizing their rights to life, liberty and dignity. Underlining the Council’s “sacred mandate” to take decisive action, he voiced appreciation to the 14 Council members who supported the vetoed draft resolution for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire.

The Gaza Strip must be reunified with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority, as reaffirmed repeatedly by this Council, he said, calling for support to “our policy of One Palestinian State, one Palestinian Government, one Law and One Gun”. He affirmed Palestine’s readiness to work with the United States, Saudi Arabia, the Council, and other partners, and stressed that “the sea change we are seeing across the world in support of Palestinian self-determination and independence, in support of peace and security, must lead to a fundamental change on the ground”.

Ahmed Aboulgheit, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, called for strict punitive measures against genocide, stating: “It has become clear that the Israeli war machine cannot be stopped by appeals alone.” Türkiye’s representative called on the Council to urgently hold Israel accountable for “genocidal acts”, including invoking Chapter VII measures, to bring a halt to the bloodshed. He also encouraged all Member States to participate in the International Conference in Cairo, aimed at mobilizing political and financial support for the Arab-Organisation of Islamic Cooperation Reconstruction Plan.

Other countries in the region, including Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, echoed grave concern about the further expansion of the conflict. Egypt’s representative said, “the current ground military operation to storm Gaza City lacks “any legal or moral basis” and threatens regional peace built over nearly five decades.

Maryam bint Ali bin Nasser Al-Misnad, Minister of State for International Cooperation of Qatar, noted that her country’s diplomatic efforts, together with Egypt and the United States, have been thwarted by Israel’s attacks in a residential zone in Doha, that killed a 22-year-old Qatari security officer and injured others. “This is a direct attack on international law as a way of resolving conflict”, she underscored.

Time to Grant Palestine Full UN Membership

“The issue of security in the Middle East did not start on 7 October 2023,” and reducing it to that date would be “unjust and biased”, underscored Ahmed Attaf, Minister of State and Minister of Foreign Affairs, National Community Abroad and African Affairs of Algeria. “There is no alternative to the two-State solution,” he underscored, calling for the Palestinian State’s full membership in the United Nations.

“Gaza has become a textbook example of failure of international community,” warned Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign and European Affairs of the Republic of Slovenia, Tanja Anna Fajon. The existence of “reasonable grounds to conclude” or findings that acts “may amount to” genocide are a threat to international peace and security, she said, commending the work of the international judicial and investigative mechanisms and urging the international community to act on those findings. She called on countries “to take bold steps to recognize Palestine” and normalize ties with both States.

Momentum in Recognition of Palestine Statehood

On that note, Yvette Cooper, Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs of the United Kingdom, recalling her country’s historic recognition of the State of Palestine this week, rejected extremist ideas on both sides which involve fantasies of destruction of the State of Israel or expulsion of the Palestinian population.

However, Hugh Hilton Todd, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, called on Member States to ensure that their engagements with Israel do not in any way contribute to prolonging the war in Gaza and the Israeli oppression of the Palestinian people. Recognizing the State of Palestine by all UN Member States is “a pivotal part of forcing an end to the Israeli occupation”, he underscored.

The representative of France, recalling that President Emmanuel Macron recognized the State of Palestine yesterday, cited the New York Declaration as the “road map” to the future, calling for a transitional administration excluding Hamas in Gaza under the auspices of the Palestinian Authority. France and European partners are ready to contribute, including through participation in an international stabilization mission, decided by the Council when the time comes, he said.

On that note, Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of Norway, underscored the importance of laying the foundations for “the day after the war” and for “the end of the conflict”. Noting that his country recognized Palestinian statehood in May last year, he said that the “old approach” — waiting for a negotiated outcome before recognition — was no longer a feasible option. Ahead of a ministerial meeting of the International Donor Group for Palestine, hosted by Norway, he encouraged all member States to contribute to emergency funding for the Palestinian Government as “the severe lack of funds represents an existential threat to Palestinian State building”.

Panama’s representative urged unhindered access for vital humanitarian aid to get into Gaza, stating: “These are the basic conditions of humanity that cannot be put off any longer.”

“We have a collective responsibility to change this situation,” underscored Kaja Kallas, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission, calling for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages and humanitarian aid into Gaza at scale. Detailing its punitive measures against extremist ministers in the Israeli Government, violent settlers in the West Bank, and Hamas terrorists, she said the weight of the world is behind a two-State solution. Europe is the largest humanitarian donor in Gaza, and the bloc is also the leading supporter of the Palestinian Authority and will provide €1.6 billion over the next three years. Calling for a “turning point” in the war, she said it cannot be at the expense of either a viability of a Palestinian State or the legitimate concerns of Israel.