The United States and Russia abstained from Friday’s vote, which was delayed for days as diplomats sought to avoid a veto by the US, Israel’s closest ally.

A staggering 20,000 people have been killed in Gaza, Palestinian officials said Friday — around 1% of the besieged territory’s prewar population.

The UN says more than a half-million people are starving in Gaza because not enough food has entered the besieged territory as Israel keeps up its blistering campaign of airstrikes and ground operations for over 10 weeks.

The Health Ministry in Gaza does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths. Israel says more than 130 of its soldiers have died in its ground offensive after Hamas raided southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing about 1,200 people — mostly civilians — and taking about 240 hostages.