NEW YORK – Voting on a United Nations Security Council draft resolution that seeks the suspension of hostilities in Gaza to deliver aid was postponed yesterday for the second time in a row.
According to information obtained by Anadolu Agency from UN sources, the United States is not yet convinced of the draft resolution, which had been scheduled to be voted on late in the day.
The members of the Security Council will vote on the draft resolution today.
The text, drafted by the United Arab Emirates, calls for the urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities.
Reaffirming that all parties to conflicts must adhere to their obligations under international law, it also requests that a UN monitoring mechanism be deployed expeditiously.
Earlier yesterday, deputy US ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told reporters that the members were still working on the text with other players.
“The only thing I can say is that we’re working on this issue right now, and we’ll see what happens later today. But that’s all I can tell you now,” he added.
The US vetoed a Security Council resolution on December 8 that demanded an immediate ceasefire to halt the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip as the death toll continued to mount.
Israel’s air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since an October 7 attack have killed more than 19,450 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to health authorities in the enclave.
The war has left Gaza in ruins, with half of the coastal territory’s housing stock damaged or destroyed and nearly two million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water. – December 20, 2023