Russia's Lavrov criticizes UN inaction: Resolutions on Gaza 'have remained ink on paper'

By Servet Gunerigok

WASHINGTON (AA) - Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov criticized the UN Security Council on Wednesday and said its resolutions on the Gaza Strip have failed to stop the bloodshed in occupied Palestinian territories.

Lavrov said at a Security Council meeting on the Middle East, chaired by Russia, that it is the fourth time in 10 months that the Council has met at the ministerial level.

"Four resolutions have been adopted. However, the ongoing bloodshed in the occupied Palestinian territories only reaffirms that all of these decisions have remained ink on paper," said the Russian diplomat.

Lavrov noted that "a frank and honest conversation is needed" to immediately stop the bloodshed, the suffering of civilians and a move toward a long-term settlement.

"The large-scale military operation which Israel has conducted, together with its American ally, has resulted in horrifying statistics in terms of casualties and destruction in 300 days in 10 months," said the foreign minister.

"Let's put it that way. In 10 months, there's almost 40,000 dead and 90,000 injured Palestinian civilians, most of whom are children and women.

"This is twice as many as the number of civilian casualties on both sides over the 10 years of the conflict in southeastern Ukraine. Ten months have yielded twice as many civilian casualties as 10 years of the conflict in Ukraine after the coup in February 2014," said Lavrov.

He cited Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' quote in 2009 as the High Commissioner for Refugees, where he said Gaza has become "the only conflict in the world in which people are not even allowed to flee.”

"Nothing has changed since then, the situation has only deteriorated further," said Lavrov. "The current unprecedented explosion of violence in the Middle East is largely a consequence of failed US policy in the region."

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

Nearly 38,800 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and more than 89,100 injured, according to local health authorities.

Over nine months into the Israeli onslaught, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.