UAE Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh said the Security Council needed to respond “clearly” to the dire situation in Gaza.
At the high-level session on Tuesday, “we heard dozens of statements urging this Council to give the same value to Palestinian life that it gives to Israeli life,” he said.
“We cannot allow any equivocation on this issue. There is no hierarchy in civic life.”
With the Security Council deadlocked, the broader UN General Assembly is due to debate the war on Thursday and Friday.
Resolutions of this body, representing all UN members, with no one having veto power, are non-binding. Still, Arab countries are working on a resolution that could be voted on this week, diplomats said.
The draft, seen by AFP, urges an immediate ceasefire and unhindered access for humanitarian aid to Gaza.
Israel has been carrying out the bombing since October 7 when Hamas gunmen attacked across the border, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and abducting 222 others in what officials say is the worst attack in Israel’s history. The most terrible attack.
So far, more than 6,500 Palestinians have been killed, mostly civilians, and there are fears that the death toll could rise if Israel proceeds with a widely expected ground offensive to destroy Hamas and free the hostages. The number may increase further.