UN Security Council to vote on Gaza ceasefire

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The United States, which has repeatedly blocked calls for a truce in Gaza, will submit a draft resolution to the UN Security Council on the need for “an immediate ceasefire,” while Russia pushes for even more explicit demands for peace.

Since the start of the Israeli-Hamas war on Oct. 7, the US has repeatedly used its UN Security Council veto to block the world body from calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.

Following their last veto at the end of February, US officials have been negotiating an alternative text focusing on support for diplomatic efforts on the ground for a six-week truce in exchange for the release of hostages.

The latest version, seen by AFP, notes the necessity for “an immediate and sustained ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides, allow for the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance, and alleviate humanitarian suffering.”

It thereby supports “diplomatic efforts to secure such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.”

With the US under strong international pressure to soften its support for key ally Israel, Secretary of State Antony

Blinken said Wednesday that the latest resolution sends “a strong signal.”

The resolution “does call for an immediate ceasefire tied to the release of hostages, and we hope very much that countries will support that,” Blinken said in Saudi Arabia.

However, the text does not explicitly use the word “call,” instead simply stating that a ceasefire is imperative, which Russia says is too weak.

“We are not satisfied with anything which doesn’t call for an immediate ceasefire,” Russian Deputy Ambassador to the UN Dmitry Polyanskiy told reporters Thursday.

Richard Gowan, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, said “the US is still not demanding a ceasefire without preconditions.”

But “even this limited shift by the US will worry the Israelis, because (Prime Minister Benjamin) Netanyahu wants to keep the UN out of diplomacy over the war altogether.”

According to diplomatic sources, the US now has enough votes (at least nine out of 15) for the text to be adopted, but there remains the possibility of a veto by Russia.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield has said that she was “optimistic” for its adoption.

AP Israeli soldiers move on the top of a tank near the Gaza border on Thursday. At left, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken disembarks from an aircraft as he arrives in Tel Aviv to meet with Israeli leaders yesterday.