The World Health Organization has agreed on a resolution, the first by any United Nations agency, calling for immediate access to vital humanitarian aid and an end to the fighting in Gaza.

The resolution – calling for the “immediate, sustained and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief, including the access of medical personnel” – was adopted by consensus at the end of a special session of the WHO’s Executive Board on Sunday.

The special meeting of the executive board was only the seventh in the WHO’s 75-year history.

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has struggled to respond to the deepening crisis in Gaza that erupted after the Palestinian armed group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel killing 1,200 people and taking more than 200 captive.

In response, Israel declared war on Hamas and has subjected Gaza, which Hamas has controlled since 2006, to relentless attack, killing at least 18,000 people.

The UN says about 80 percent of the population has been displaced and faces shortages of food, water and medicine along with a growing threat of disease.

On Friday, a resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire put forward by the United Arab Emirates and co-sponsored by 100 other countries failed to pass in the UNSC after the United States vetoed the proposal. The US is one of five permanent members of the council with a veto.

The vote came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked Artic€le 99 on Wednesday to formally warn the 15-member council of a global threat from the two-month-long war.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the UN health agency resolution could be a starting point for further action.

“It does not resolve the crisis. But it is a platform on which to build,” he said in his closing remarks to the board.