US drafts UN resolution for ‘immediate ceasefire’

The US has drafted a resolution for the UN Security Council calling for an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war, a new report obtained by the Associated Press reveals.

A copy of the resolution is in a form that members can vote on.

The US circulated the first draft last month, just a day before it vetoed a Security Council resolution that would demand an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”. The US was the only country in the 15-member body that voted no while the UK abstained.

The latest draft of the US resolution, as of Thursday, “unequivocally supports international diplomatic efforts to establish an immediate and sustained ceasefire as part of a deal that releases the hostages, and that allows the basis for a more durable peace to alleviate humanitarian suffering”, the AP reports.

The initial draft used the phrase “temporary”, which has now been removed, according to the AP. The draft, however, is still subject to change.

The initial February draft also stated the Israeli offensive into the city of Rafah

“should not proceed under current circumstances”.

Since October 7, more than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed.

Now, this week’s latest draft states that Israel Defence Forces invading Rafah “would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement, potentially into neighbouring countries, and would have serious implications for regional peace and security”, according to the AP.

The resolution also condemns Hamas’s attacks on Israel on October 7, in which about 1,200 people were killed and 200 people were taken hostage, the AP reports. The draft also demands Hamas and other armed groups immediately grant humanitarian access to all Israeli hostages still in Gaza.

Late on Wednesday, just hours before the US released its latest draft, news broke that the IDF had struck a UN facility in Rafah, killing an aid worker and injuring civilians.

Earlier, President Joe Biden said he would consider conditioning US aid to Israel should the IDF move forward with their invasion into Rafah. In his State of the Union address this month, Mr

Biden also said US forces were under orders to build an emergency port for aid on the Gaza coast. However, Pentagon officials said the project could take two months, while the UN warns of an imminent, widespread famine in Gaza.

Meanwhile, only a handful of US lawmakers have called for a permanent ceasefire. But on Thursday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, the highest-ranking Jewish official in US history, called for a change in Israeli government, signalling that Democrats are split on the US response to the war. (©The Independent)