The U.N. Security Council has passed a new resolution that calls for speeding up aid deliveries into Gaza, but without the original call for an “urgent suspension of hostilities” between Israel and Hamas. The United States and Russia abstained from Friday’s vote, which was delayed for days as diplomats sought to avoid a veto by the U.S., Israel’s closest ally. The United Nations says more than a half-million people are starving in Gaza because not enough food has entered the besieged territory. Israel has kept up its blistering campaign of airstrikes and ground operations for over 10 weeks. Palestinian officials said Friday that the death toll has now exceeded 20,000. That's around 1% of the territory’s prewar population.
