Pakistan decries Security Council’s inability to demand Gaza cease-fire amid mounting Palestinian casualties

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Saturday it was “deeply disappointed” by the United Nations Security Council’s failure to seek an end to Israeli airstrikes and ground offensive against the residents of Gaza amid a massive loss of human life in its latest session in New York.
The session was convened a day earlier after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked a rarely exercised power under Article 99 of the UN Charter, urging the Security Council to respond to the situation in the Palestinian enclave where over 17,000 people have been killed in two months.
The war began on October 7 after a surprise attack on Israel by Hamas led to nearly 1,200 casualties, with the group describing its action as a response to the deteriorating Palestinian condition under Israeli occupation.
The international community widely viewed Israel’s response as disproportionate since it resulted in the destruction of hospitals and residential neighborhoods and the killings of significant number of civilians, including women and children.
As the Security Council convened its special meeting to address the issue, the United States vetoed a resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the Palestinian territory.
“Pakistan is deeply disappointed that the UN Security Council has once again failed to call for a cease-fire in Gaza, even in the face of a human tragedy of epic proportions taking place there,” the foreign office said in a statement released in Islamabad. “Despite the invocation of Article-99 of the UN Charter by the Secretary-General and his warnings of humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, the Council has failed to perform its primary responsibility to maintain international peace and security.”
The foreign office described the “collective punishment” endured by the besieged people of Gaza as unprecedented and unacceptable.
“Continuation of Israel’s campaign in occupied Palestine will prolong human suffering, with massive civilian casualties and forced displacement of millions of people,” it added. “It could also trigger a wider and more dangerous conflict. A heavy responsibility rests on all who have contributed to the prolongation of uninterrupted bombing of the people of Gaza.”
The official Pakistani statement emphasized the need for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire, adding: “We urge the UN Security Council to act now, end this inhuman war and protect the people of Gaza from genocide.”
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas also maintained earlier today that the United States was “responsible for the bloodshed” of children in the Gaza Strip.
A statement issued by the Palestinian Authority said: “The president has described the American position as aggressive and immoral, a flagrant violation of all humanitarian principles and values, and holds the United States responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women and elderly people in the Gaza Strip.”