Israel is again the culprit, expanding the war in the occupied Palestinian territories of Gaza and the West Bank, now entering its second year, to Lebanon. The war could expand further and drag in other countries, unless we put a stop to it.

The 15-member Security Council with the mandate to ensure peace around the world is failing humanity. More than 41,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have died, and over a million people have lost their homes. This week, at the start of Israel’s war on Lebanon, hundreds of people died.

One can expect more deaths and more people fleeing their homes in the coming days and weeks.

Another major humanitarian catastrophe, with untold suffering – death, injury and displacement, sickness and starvation – is in the making. We can only watch with dismay.

Many world leaders attending the UN General Assembly lashed out at Israel for the attacks in Lebanon. But don’t expect the Security Council to come up with a resolution condemning Israel. The United States will shield Israel, as it has always done, giving the Jewish state a free hand to do what it wants in the name of its security, including killing civilians.

This inevitably raises the question about the integrity and credibility of the council. It has failed the Ukrainians and the Palestinians, now it is about to fail the people in Lebanon.

“This is symptomatic of a failed leadership for peace,” Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said on Thursday during the UN Security Council High Level Open Debate. While she was referring to Gaza, it is just as applicable to other wars where the council has failed.

Reforming the council is the solution but it’s unlikely to happen with the five permanent members jealously guarding their veto powers, more to protect their geopolitical interests rather than to protect humanity.

You may have to dismantle the entire UN first before coming up with a more democratic structure. And it will probably take World War III for this to happen.

But as Retno correctly said in her speech, we do not need to look far in pursuing a secure future. “We can start right here and right now, with peace for the people of Palestine."