UN Security Council to vote on new Gaza resolution

UNITED NATIONS (AFP) – The UN Security Council will vote today on a new draft resolution on an “immediate” ceasefire in Gaza, after Russia and China vetoed an earlier text proposed by the United States.

The Council has been divided over the Israel-Hamas war since the Oct. 7 attacks, approving only two of eight resolutions, with both dealing mainly with humanitarian aid to the devastated Gaza Strip.

Permanent Council member and key Israel backer the United States has unequivocally supported Israel’s right to defend itself following Hamas’ unprecedented attacks.

But with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza deepening, the US has tempered its support for Israel over its conduct of the war against the Palestinian militant group.

The Gaza war began with an unprecedented Hamas attack on Oct. 7 that resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel has vowed to destroy the militants, who also seized about 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes around 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 presumed dead.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip on Sunday put the total death toll in the territory at 32,226, most of them women and children.

The ministry said 72 people had been killed in the early hours of Sunday, including at least 26 killed in air strikes on five homes in the southern city of Rafah.

Last Friday, the Security Council voted on a draft submitted by the US that called for an “immediate” ceasefire linked to the release of hostages.

China and Russia vetoed the resolution, criticizing it for stopping short of explicitly demanding Israel halt its campaign.