UN security council to vote on Gaza ceasefire as Israeli bombardment continues

Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres. Picture: Chris Jackson/PA Wire

The UN security council is to meet under acute pressure from Secretary-General António Guterres and will vote on urging an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after weeks of war.

In a letter to the council on Wednesday, Guterres took the extraordinary step of invoking the UN charter’s Article 99, which states that the secretary-general may bring to the attention of the council “any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.”