UN Security Council eyes another Gaza resolution, after several failed attempts
- New draft resolution calls for an ‘urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities’ to allow more humanitarian aid into war-torn Gaza
- After several failed attempts to act, the Security Council has passed only one resolution on Gaza since the start of the war
The United Nations Security Council could vote as early as Monday on a proposal to demand that Israel and Hamas allow aid access to the Gaza Strip – via land, sea and air routes – and set up UN monitoring of the humanitarian assistance delivered.
Diplomats said the fate of the draft Security Council resolution hinges on final negotiations between Israel ally and council veto power, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates, which has drafted the text.
“We have engaged constructively and transparently throughout the entire process in an effort to unite around a product that will pass,” said a US official, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The UAE knows exactly what can pass and what cannot – it is up to them if they want to get this done.”
The US wants to tone down language on a cessation of hostilities, diplomats said. The draft text, seen by Reuters, currently “calls for an urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access”.
UN officials and aid agencies warn of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza – mass starvation and disease – with the majority of the coastal Palestinian enclave’s 2.3 million people driven from their homes during the two-month long conflict.