The UN Security Council has underscored the importance of protecting Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip amid ongoing fighting and since the deadly incident involving aid deliveries. “Parties were urged to refrain from depriving civilians in Gaza of basic services and humanitarian assistance,” according to a United Nations statement published in New York on Saturday. The council expressed “grave concern that the entire population, more than two million people, could face alarming levels of acute food insecurity,” according to the statement. Members reiterated their demand for parties “to a…