What the latest UN resolution on Gaza means 

Welcome to Friday’s Early Edition from i.

The conflict between Israel and Hamas has sown division in societies and countries across the globe, and the bargaining table at the UN has been no less fraught. Within the first week of the war breaking out, reports emerged of “powerlessness and confusion” at the Security Council, as it attempted, fruitlessly, to make a statement. Since then, the UN chief, Antonio Guterres has made repeated and increasingly dire warnings about the situation in Gaza. Earlier this month, he made the rare move of invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter, which allows the secretary general to “bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security”. In it he described “appalling human suffering, physical destruction and collective trauma across Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories”. However a Security Council resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire at that time was vetoed by the US. Mr Guterres has spoken out again, saying the Palestinian enclave faces “a humanitarian catastrophe” and that a total collapse of the humanitarian support system would lead to “a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt.” Today, the UN Security Council is expected to vote on a new resolution, after almost a week of delays and wrangling. Will the US back it this time? And what is in it, and what might it achieve? We’ll take a look after the headlines.

Today’s news, and why it matters

 The Home Office has blocked migrants on the Bibby Stockholm barge from having their asylum claims granted while on board, i can reveal. In a letter to Dorset Council, the local authority for the barge, the Home Office said that it will “not be serving any casework decisions” to asylum seekers while they are living on the barge.

A Brexit law change is set to worsen the state of Britain’s rivers as the Government ditches old EU rules designed to protect the waterways from agricultural pollution. From 1 January, 2024, British farmers will no longer be forced to comply with a series of EU regulations designed to promote good environmental practice, including rules to reduce agricultural runoff into rivers.

Ministers have watered down plans to increase the salary threshold for those bringing a foreign spouse to the UK to £38,000, documents suggest. Home Office small print indicates the salary threshold will be increased to £29,000 – almost £10,000 lower than initially announced at the start of the month.

Brianna detective insists murder not trans hate, but regrets saying ‘no evidence’. Detective Chief Superintendent Mike Evans, who led the investigation for Cheshire Police, said: “I think if it hadn’t have been Brianna, it would have been one of the other four children on that list. It’s just that Brianna was the one who was accessible at that time, and then became the focus of those desires, so to speak.”

British teenager Alex Batty has spoken out about his escape from France for the first time, saying he realised he could no longer live his mother’s lifestyle. The 17-year-old told the Sun he realised he could no longer live with his “anti-government, anti-vax” mother after an argument, saying she was “a great person but not a great mum”.

Four questions on today’s UN security council vote:

What does the resolution call for? The key aim of the resolution is to deliver sorely needed humanitarian aid into Gaza. However the initial draft text also called for “the urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities.” That was a problem for the US, which along with Israel, opposes a ceasefire. Washington instead supports pauses in fighting to protect civilians and free hostages taken by Hamas. The new draft resolution now calls for “urgent steps to immediately allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and also for creating the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities,” Reuters reported. Diplomats have said that if adopted, this would mark the Security Council’s first reference to a cessation of hostilities. Another issue has been the inspection of aid trucks entering Gaza to ensure they are only carrying humanitarian goods – another key element and sticking point of the resolution. The draft calls for the UN to take over that job from Israel, a move which has been opposed by the US. The draft resolution requests that the UN’s Antonio Guterres appoint “a senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator with responsibility for facilitating, coordinating, monitoring and verifying” the relief deliveries. According to the Associated Press, the updated resolution has also eliminated text condemning “all violations of international humanitarian law, including all indiscriminate attacks against civilians and civilian objects, all violence and hostilities against civilians, and all acts of terrorism.” However it does demand the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and reaffirms the obligations of the parties under international law, including protecting civilians and infrastructure critical for their survival. Read more here.

Will the US support it? Yes, appears to be the answer, so far. Last night, US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said: “We have worked hard and diligently over the course of the past week with the Emiratis, with others, with Egypt, to come up with a resolution that we can support. And we do have that resolution now. We’re ready to vote on it.” In a briefing she added the resolution “will bring humanitarian assistance to those in need. It will support the priority that Egypt has in ensuring that we put a mechanism on the ground that will support humanitarian assistance, and we’re ready to move forward.”

However: It is not yet clear whether other key Security Council members, primarily Russia, will accept the new text. Moscow, which like Washington is a veto power, along with some other council members had delayed the vote this week after complaining about the amendments made to appease the US, Reuters reported. And separately, a statement from Hamas last night said the militant group had ruled out any more hostage releases from Gaza until Israel agrees to a “full cessation of aggression”. It said: “There is a Palestinian national decision that there should be no talk about prisoners or exchange deals except after a full cessation of aggression.”

Meanwhile, in Britain: Lord Cameron, who says he hopes the UN Security Council can reach consensus on the resolution, has also revealed he wants British ships to be allowed to deliver aid directly to Gaza. The former prime minister said the UK was “pushing very hard” to ensure aid supplies reach Gaza, both through the reopened Kerem Shalom border crossing and possibly by sea. Read that story, here. Earlier this week, a group of British military and diplomatic figures called on Lord Cameron to vote for the latest resolution, rather than abstain, as Britain has done previously, and put pressure on America to do the same. They noted how, in 2009, despite intense political pressure from Washington, the UK decided to vote in favour of a ceasefire in Gaza. As a result, the US abstained – within a week the bombs stopped falling. Read more on that, here.

Around the world

 Fourteen people have been killed in a mass shooting by a student at a university in central Prague, according to Czech authorities. A total of 25 people were injured, nine seriously, after the 24-year-old gunman opened fire at the faculty of arts at Charles University in the Czech capital.

As starvation takes hold in the besieged warzone with only limited aid allowed in, conditions have deteriorated for the only animal rescue service in Gaza, Sulala. “Food is running out,” founder Mr al-Err tells i from Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza. “We used to hand out food to displaced people who brought their pets but since a week we had to stop.”

There are growing calls for Israel to be expelled from the Eurovision Song Contest. A musicians organisation in Iceland has urged the European Broadcasting Union to eject Israel from the competition, which it has won on four occasions.

Rudy Giuliani has filed for bankruptcy, just days after he was ordered to pay $148m (£116m) to two former Georgia election workers who he falsely accused of fraud following Donald Trump’s 2020 presidential election loss. Mr Guiliani, who was known as ‘America’s mayor’ for his leadership of New York after the 11 September 2001 attacks, faces a crush of debts stemming from his work as a lawyer for former President Trump.

The rising fame of a southern elephant seal known for hauling himself about the streets of Tasmania’s southern beach suburbs, have left marine experts concerned for his welfare. Neil the seal has become a national phenomenon – and made headlines across Australia when he took a nap in front of a woman’s car.

 Watch out for…

 more travel chaos as strikes and bad weather combined to create havoc on the roads, rails and in the air.  

 Thoughts for the day

 Watch out for a Boris Johnson comeback (if Donald Trump becomes president again). The former PM will be among first to congratulate him, as he ponders his own return, warns Paul Waugh.

Why we should all be drinking recycled toilet water. Recycling wastewater could, along with decreasing water loss from leaky pipes, help ensure safe drinking water for millions of people across the world, explains James Dyke.

The generation who suffer most at Christmas is millennials. I spent years tying myself in knots to be in three places every time the festive period rolled around, reveals Emily Watkins.

Culture Break

 Love was British comedy’s punchline. Tim and Dawn’s Office kiss changed that. Twenty years ago, Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant made one of the best Christmas specials in TV history. And its will-they-won’t-they romance heralded a new era for British sitcoms – in which love wasn’t played for laughs, writes Tom Nicholson.

The Big Read

 ‘Being in care ripped me away from my twin sister – I won’t lose her again’. Kane Wilton and twin sister Sinead spent years of their childhood apart when they went into care. He tells i about the heartache siblings in care endure when they are moved miles away from each other.

Sport

 Stockport’s ‘soul was ripped out’, now a town and its football club are thriving. In the shadows of Manchester, geography has never been kind to Stockport. Now it is a ‘new Berlin’ and its club have gone from playing next to allotments to becoming the EFL’s highest goalscorers.

 Something to brighten your day

 We’ve stopped buying presents and Christmas has never been better. I don’t miss the price tag and headache – and it gives us more to spend on ourselves, writes Mary Lou Costa.