UN resolution on Gaza crisis better late than never

About one and a half months after the outbreak of the conflict in Gaza that has already claimed 12,800 lives, and after four failed attempts to adopt a resolution on the conflict, the United Nations Security Council finally did so on Wednesday.

Drafted by Malta, the resolution calls for "urgent extended humanitarian pauses for (a) sufficient number of days to allow aid access" to the embattled Palestinian enclave, and for Hamas to release all the hostages it is holding.

Among the 15-seat UN Security Council, 12 countries voted for the resolution. The United States and the United Kingdom abstained on the grounds that it contained no explicit criticism of Hamas. So did Russia, as it thinks that rather than "pauses", the resolution should have called for an immediate cease-fire, which it believes is the top imperative.