US drafts UN resolution for Gaza cease-fire
Blinken tours Middle East with strains growing in US-Israel ties
— The United States has circulated a draft U.N. Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire linked to the release of hostages” in the Gaza Strip, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said.
“Well, in fact, we actually have a resolution that we put forward right now that’s before the United Nations Security Council that does call for an immediate ceasefire tied to the release of hostages, and we hope very much that countries will support that,” Blinken said.
“I think that would send a strong message, a strong signal,” he told Saudi media outlet Al Hadath on Wednesday evening during a visit to Saudi Arabia to discuss the war between Israel and Hamas.
Blinken met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan and then held talks with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman soon after landing in the kingdom on Wednesday on the first leg of a regional tour that will include Egypt on Thursday and then Israel.
The trip is his sixth to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7.
The United States, Israel’s main backer, has previously used its U.N. Security Council veto to block the world body from calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.
“Of course, we stand with Israel and its right to defend itself… but at the same time, it’s imperative that the civilians who are in harm’s way and who are suffering so terribly — that we focus on them, that we make them a priority, protecting the civilians, getting them humanitarian assistance,” Blinken said.
Since blocking an Algerian draft resolution calling for an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in Gaza at the end of February, U.S. 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.
According to diplomatic sources, this text had little chance of gaining the Council’s approval and a new version was circulated to Security Council members on Wednesday.
The amended draft, seen by AFP, stresses “the need for an immediate and durable ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides, enable the delivery of essential humanitarian aid, and alleviate suffering… in conjunction with the release of hostages still held.”
No vote has yet been scheduled on this text.
Blinken’s latest tour runs parallel with talks in Qatar, where mediators met for a third day on Wednesday in a renewed effort to secure a ceasefire but with little indication of an imminent agreement.
The plan being discussed in Qatar would temporarily halt the fighting as hostages are exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and the delivery of relief supplies is stepped up.
“It’s getting closer. I think the gaps are narrowing, and I think an agreement is very much possible,” Blinken said of the mediation in Doha.
“We worked very hard with Qatar, with Egypt, and with Israel to put a strong proposal on the table… Hamas wouldn’t accept it,” he said.
“They came back with other requests, other demands. The negotiators are working on that right now.”
The bloodiest-ever Gaza war broke out after Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack resulted in about 1,160 deaths in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
Militants also seized about 250 hostages, of whom Israel believes 130 remain in Gaza, including 33 who are presumed dead.
Israel’s military has waged a retaliatory offensive against Hamas that has killed almost 32,000 people, most of them women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.
Netanyahu tells Republicans
Gaza war will continue
— Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told U.S. Republican senators on Wednesday that Israel will continue its efforts to defeat the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Gaza Strip, senators told reporters after he addressed a party lunch.
“He’s going to do what he said he’s going to do. He’s going to finish it,” Senator Jim Risch said.
The conservative Israeli leader spoke to Republicans via videolink nearly a week after the Senate’s Democratic majority leader, Chuck Schumer, gave a Senate speech branding Netanyahu an obstacle to peace and urging new elections in Israel.
Wednesday’s meeting underscored the politicization of Washington’s Israel policy. Netanyahu has long been aligned with Republicans, who accuse Schumer of seeking to overthrow the Israeli leader.