UNITED NATIONS: As the United Nations (UN) resumed debating the Israel-Hamas conflict on Tuesday, Pakistan urged the world body to play its role in resolving global disputes, like Palestine and Kashmir.

In a message released on the UN’s 79th anniversary, Pakistan’s UN envoy Munir Akram reminded the organisation that it “needs to reinforce its capacity to respond to the old and new threats to international peace and security.”

Also, on day 17 of the Gaza-Israel crisis, UN humanitarians pleaded for desperately needed fuel deliveries and other relief items to prevent the already dire situation in the enclave from worsening further.

Ambassador Akram, however, also underlined the need to “halt and reverse emerging great power tensions and the new nuclear and conventional arms race.”

The United Nations, he said, should try to revive equitable and inclusive global economic growth, and to avert the existential threat posed by climate change.

At the UN headquarters in New York, the UN Security Council began its fourth meeting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since Oct 7 when Hamas’ rocket attacks on Israel forced the world to refocus its attention on this 75-year-old dispute.

UN Secretary General António Guterres, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland and UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Lynn Hastings briefed the 15-member council on the situation in the conflict zone.

Foreign ministers from several countries are also attending the debate. So far, 92 countries have signed up to speak.

There has been no agreement on any action to alleviate the suffering of civilians caught up in the war. The Council failed to adopt two previous draft resolutions addressing the escalation.

The first from Russia, which called for an immediate ceasefire, failed to get enough votes, while a Brazilian draft, calling for humanitarian pauses in the war, was vetoed by the United States.

Addressing Tuesday’s meeting, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that among the more than 1,400 people Hamas killed on Oct 7, there were citizens of over 30 UN member states, including Americans. “Every one of us has a stake, every one of us a responsibility in defeating terrorism,” he said.

He also underscored the vital need to protect civilians, urging Israel to take all possible precautions to prevent harm to civilians and ensure that humanitarian assistance continues to reach Gaza.

Secretary Blinken blamed Hamas for using Palestinian civilians as human shields and urged them to stop doing so if they wanted to protect civilians.

The UN chief, however, underlined the need for an immediate end to hostilities on both sides.

“At this critical hour, I appeal to all to pull back from the brink before the violence claims even more lives and spreads even further,” he said in his opening remarks. Mr Guterres emphasised that the world cannot lose sight of the only realistic foundation for peace and stability in the Middle East — a two-state solution.

“Israelis must see their legitimate need for security materialised and Palestinians must see their legitimate need for an independent state realised, in line with UN resolutions, international law and previous agreements,” he said.

Riyadal Maliki, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the State of Palestine, said that the Security Council and the international community had a duty and an obligation to save lives. “Continued failure at this [Security] Council is inexcusable,” he added.

He also reminded Israelis that “more injustice and more killing, will not make Israel safer” because “no amount of weapons, no alliance, can bring security. Only peace with Palestine and its people can.”

Mr Maliki urged the international community to put “an immediate end to the Israeli war launched against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip. Stop the bloodshed.”

Israel’s Foreign Affairs Minister Eli Cohen, holding up a collage of those kidnapped by Hamas, said the hostage situation was a “living nightmare”.

He demanded immediate access to hostages and their unconditional release, adding that Qatar could facilitate this. “You, members of the international community, should demand Qatar to do just that,” he said. “The meeting should conclude with a clear message: Bring them home.”

Published in Dawn, October 25th, 2023