Israel-Palestine Conflict Kills 8,000, UN Security Council Still Debates

Between October 7 and 25, 2023, the Israel-Palestine conflict resulted in approximately 8,000 deaths and 24,700 injuries on both sides.

This data was compiled by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) from the Gaza Ministry of Health and official statements from the Israeli government.

By the 19th day of the war, Wednesday, October 25, 2023, the total number of Palestinian casualties was approximately four times higher than the number of Israeli casualties.

"In the last 24 hours, the scale of Israeli bombing and air strikes has been the most intense since the escalation began, with the highest death toll in Gaza since the war began," OCHA stated in its report on Wednesday, October 25, 2023.

OCHA noted that the majority of Palestinian casualties were in the Gaza Strip, with approximately 6,547 deaths and 17,439 injuries. In the West Bank, there were 102 deaths and 1,889 injuries.

Meanwhile, there were approximately 1,402 Israeli deaths and 5,445 injuries. No new casualties from Israel have been reported since Monday, October 23, 2023.

In addition to the figures above, OCHA reported that approximately 1,600 Palestinian civilians in Gaza are missing, about 900 of whom are children. These missing persons are believed to be trapped under the rubble of collapsed buildings.

OCHA also reported that the number of displaced persons in Gaza has exceeded 1.4 million. Approximately 629,000 of them are staying in UNRWA emergency shelters, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, while the rest are scattered in various locations.

"The excessive density of displaced persons in UNRWA emergency shelters in central and southern Gaza severely hinders access to basic services, increases health and safety risks, and negatively impacts mental health," OCHA stated on Wednesday, October 25, 2023.

Deadlock in the UN Security Council Debate

Amidst this humanitarian crisis, the 15 countries comprising the UN Security Council are still debating the best resolution for the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Russia, as a member of the UN Security Council, has submitted a draft resolution calling for a ceasefire. This draft was approved by 5 UN Security Council members (Russia, China, the United Arab Emirates, Gabon, and Mozambique).

However, 4 UN Security Council members rejected it (the United States, the United Kingdom, Japan, and France), and 6 abstained (Albania, Brazil, Ecuador, Ghana, Malta, and Switzerland).

Therefore, the Russian draft failed because a UN Security Council resolution requires approval from at least 9 of its 15 member states and cannot be vetoed by any of the 5 permanent members (China, Russia, the United States, France, and the United Kingdom).

According to a representative of the United States, they rejected the Russian draft resolution for a ceasefire because it did not label the Palestinian Hamas militant group as "terrorist."

"We cannot allow this Council to unfairly blame Israel and excuse Hamas for its decades of atrocities," said the US representative to the UN Security Council, as reported by UN News on Monday, October 16, 2023.

The US has also submitted a draft resolution that essentially calls for addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

However, the US-proposed draft only calls for a "humanitarian pause" or a pause in the war, without requiring a full ceasefire. The US also stated that Israel has the right to "defend itself."

That US draft resolution then failed because it was vetoed by two permanent members of the UN Security Council, China and Russia.

"China and Russia vetoed the US-sponsored draft resolution, while the Russian-backed draft resolution failed to garner enough support, thus deepening the deadlock in the UN Security Council in providing a unified response to address the crisis in Gaza and Israel," said the UN publications team, as reported by UN News on Wednesday, October 25, 2023.