The United Nations was unable to reach an agreement on stopping the fighting in Gaza due to opposition from Russia and China.
The resolution asked for a quick and lasting stop to fighting for about six weeks. This would keep people safe and help get them necessary aid. Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s ambassador to the UN, said the report was very political and gave Israel permission to attack Rafah.
The United Nations Security Council will vote on a resolution proposed by the United States. The resolution says it’s very important to have a quick and continuing ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. This is to protect people and allow food and supplies to reach over 2 million Palestinians who need them.
The US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said she believed that the stricter resolution would be passed by the 15-member council on Friday.
The vote on the draft will decide the council’s order for a quick and lasting ceasefire. It doesn’t specifically mention releasing hostages taken by Hamas in October. Israel was attacked 7 times before. The statement strongly supports using diplomacy to achieve a ceasefire and the release of all hostages.
Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, said that Russia wants an immediate ceasefire and that this is also what US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is pushing for, and what everyone wants. He asked about the wording in the draft and said, “What’s an imperative. I have to give you $100, but it’s just a rule, not $100. ”
The Russian ambassador said that someone is playing tricks on the international community.
The Security Council agreed on two plans to help the people in Gaza, but none of them asked for fighting to stop.
In October, Russia and China said no to a plan from the US to stop the fighting so aid could be given and civilians could be protected. They also said no to stopping the arming of Hamas. They said it doesn’t show that countries all over the world are asking for a stop to fighting.
The United States, the country that is closest to Israel, said no to three proposals asking for a stop to the fighting. The most recent proposal was supported by Arab countries and most of the council members, but the US said no. Please simplify the following text: “20. ”
The US proposed a different resolution earlier, and it has been changed a lot in talks before the vote on Friday. Initially, it would have agreed to a short break in fighting if all hostages were released. The previous plan would have also supported efforts by other countries to stop fighting as part of a deal to free hostages.
The vote will happen while Blinken, the top American diplomat, is on his sixth urgent trip to the Middle East since the Israel-Hamas war. He is talking about getting a ceasefire and releasing hostages, and also planning for after the war.
Nate Evans, who speaks for the US Mission to the United Nations, said that the Council should all agree to support the negotiations happening and put pressure on Hamas to agree to the deal being offered.
At the same time, the 10 chosen leaders of the Security Council have been writing their own decision. It would ask for a quick break in fighting for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan which began on March 10. This break should be followed by a long-lasting ceasefire.
It also asks for all hostages to be released right away and without any conditions. It also emphasizes the urgent need to protect people and give them necessary help in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian fighters killed about 1,200 people in the unexpected October attack. 7 attacks happened in southern Israel, which started the war, and 250 more people were kidnapped. It is thought that Hamas is still keeping about 100 people as hostages, along with the bodies of 30 others.
In Gaza, the Health Ministry said nearly 32,000 Palestinians have died. It doesn’t separate civilians from soldiers when counting the dead, but it says that two-thirds of the people who died are women and children.
This week, the group that decides how bad hunger crises are says that there will be a famine in northern Gaza soon. 70% of people there really don’t have enough to eat. The IPC report says that if the war continues to get worse, half of the people in Gaza could not have enough food to eat.
The US is very worried about the possibility of war causing hunger and sickness for the people in Gaza. They are also concerned about how many people in Gaza don’t have enough food to eat, and they think the situation there is very bad.
It would show how important it is to send more help to people in Gaza and make sure there are no obstacles to getting them the aid they need.
The final version of the draft was completed on Thursday night and is ready to be voted on.
After talking with other leaders about Gaza on Thursday, France’s representative to the United Nations, Nicolas de Riviere, said, “We want to do something about this quickly and hope to make a decision by Friday evening. ”
“He said we have two choices: Either we adopt the US text and move to the next phase of managing this crisis, or if we don’t adopt it, the elected members will bring their own draft to the table for a vote, and I hope it gets adopted. ”
Israel is being pushed by its friends to make it easier to send help to Gaza and to open more borders. They also want Israel to agree to stop fighting. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to continue the military attack in the southern city of Rafah, where 1. 3 million Palestinians who have been forced to leave their homes are seeking safety. Netanyahu says that Hamas has a lot of control in that area.
The last version of the US draft took out a sentence that said Israel should not attack Rafah at that time. Instead, the council would talk about their worry that attacking Rafah would hurt more civilians and make them leave to other countries, and it would cause problems for peace and safety in the region.
For the first time, a resolution from the UN would criticize all acts of terrorism, including the attacks led by Hamas in October. The US wrote this resolution. On 7th, 2023, it took hostages, killed people, and committed sexual violence, including rape.