Gaza:
The United States is wary of a new UN resolution on the war in Gaza, its deputy ambassador said on Wednesday, as a draft seeks an immediate ceasefire and a halt to Israel’s offensive on Rafah.
Algeria called an urgent UN Security Council meeting for Tuesday after an Israeli attack killed 45 people at a Rafah camp for displaced people on Sunday, drawing international condemnation.
“We have said from the beginning that any kind of additional output on the situation at this point is unlikely to be helpful,” U.S. Deputy Envoy Robert Wood told reporters, referring to a text from the council.
“It’s not going to change the situation on the ground.”
Algeria began circulating its draft among Security Council colleagues after the emergency meeting.
The draft resolution, which builds on last week’s ruling by the International Court of Justice, “decides that Israel, the occupying power, must immediately suspend its military offensive and any other action in Rafah.”
It also “demands an immediate ceasefire respected by all parties and also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”
There is no vote on the text yet.
“We don’t believe another resolution will really change the dynamics on the ground,” Wood said.
Wood said the United States, which freely uses its veto power to protect Israel, believes negotiations in the region are the appropriate way to reach a ceasefire.
In early May, indirect talks between Israel and Hamas failed to reach a ceasefire and an agreement on the release of hostages and prisoners. Qatar, Egypt and the United States acted as intermediaries.
At a meeting Wednesday, many members of the Security Council took note of last week’s ruling by the International Court of Justice that ordered Israel to immediately halt its offensive on Rafah.
The council has struggled to find a unified voice since war broke out with Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, followed by Israel’s retaliatory campaign.
The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,189 people, most of them civilians, according to an AFP report based on official Israeli figures.
The militants also took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 who the army says are dead.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive killed at least 36,171 people in Gaza, most of them civilians, according to the Ministry of Health in the Hamas-administered territory.
After passing two resolutions focusing on the need for humanitarian aid to people in Gaza, in March the Security Council passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire – a call that had been blocked several times before by the United States, the main ally of Israel.
Washington, increasingly frustrated with the way Israel is waging war and the rising number of civilian deaths, finally allowed that resolution to pass by abstaining from voting.
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