Even representatives of some of IsraelтАЩs staunchest allies, including the United States, held that, while Israel had the right to defend itself, the way in which it did so must remain within the bounds of international law and with regard to the safety of noncombatants.
тАЬIt means Israel must take all possible precautions to avoid harm to civilians,тАЭ said the U.S. secretary of state, Antony J. Blinken. тАЬIt means food, water, medicine, and other essential humanitarian assistance must be able to flow into Gaza and to the people who need them. It means civilians must be able to get out of harmтАЩs way. It means humanitarian pauses must be considered for these purposes.тАЭ
Arab foreign ministers took a united stand with their Palestinian counterpart, Riyad al-Maliki, saying outside of the Security Council chamber that their top objective was an immediate cease-fire and getting aid to flow, at scale, into Gaza. They warned that if the root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict were not addressed and resolved, it would feed more extremism that could risk engulfing the entire region.
The U.N. ambassador from Iran, which has close ties to Hamas and provides it with military and financial support, accused Israel of тАЬapartheid policiesтАЭ against Palestinians. The official, Saeid Iravani, called IsraelтАЩs strikes in Gaza a тАЬbrutal massacre.тАЭ
The foreign ministers of Jordan and Egypt, which border Israel, delivered angry statements accusing the Security Council and Israeli allies of applying double standards and sending a message to the worldтАЩs two billion Muslims that their lives are valued less.
тАЬEnough with the war, enough with the despair,тАЭ said JordanтАЩs foreign minister, Ayman Safadi, тАЬenough with the oppression, enough with the killing, enough with the violence and enough with the double standards of international law.тАЭ
