The UN Security Council has managed, just before the Christmas weekend in the US, to pass a resolution on the conflict that had been in the works all week. 

Unlike in two previous votes, the US did not veto. 

The text demands the facilitation of "safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale."

It also called for the creation of "conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities" without demanding an immediate end to the fighting.

The United States and Russia abstained from the vote on Friday.

The resolution requests the appointment of a UN humanitarian coordinator to oversee the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip.

It says that the delivery mechanism will be managed in consultation with "all relevant parties," including Israel.

An earlier draft had called for the aid mechanism to be put under exclusive UN control.