Philippe Lazzarini, Director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). (Photo: UN)

The session was requested by China and the United Arab Emirates to find a way to end the violence driving the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

The meeting was tense due to sharp disagreements between key members of the Council regarding the need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, diplomatic sources at the UN said. The session concluded without adopting any resolution. This was the fourth failed attempt by the Council in two weeks to reach a consensus resolution on the Gaza conflict.

Philippe Lazzarini, Director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), said the level of destruction in Gaza is unprecedented, and the people there are suffering an unbearable tragedy: "A further breakdown of civil order will make it extremely difficult, or even impossible, for UN aid agencies to continue operating in the Gaza Strip. At that time, it will be impossible to send relief convoys into the territory."

According to the UN, as of Monday 200 trucks carrying 3100 tons of humanitarian aid had entered Gaza through the Rafah border gate between Gaza and Egypt. Lisa Doughten, a senior official from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, stressed the urgent need for the Israeli government to open the Kerem Shalom border gate between the Gaza Strip and Israel. This would enable a swift influx of a large number of humanitarian trucks into Gaza.