UN resolution submitted
US calls for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip
March 21, 2024, 6:32 a.m
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The USA wants to show Israel alternatives for a ground offensive in Rafah. However, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will not let this dissuade him. The Americans are now taking the route through the UN. However, the proposed resolution is linked to a condition that makes implementation difficult.
According to Secretary of State Antony Blinken, the United States has submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip. “We actually presented a resolution that is now before the Security Council that calls for an immediate ceasefire coupled with the release of the hostages,” Blinken told Saudi media Al-Hadath. Blinken’s comments came during a visit to Saudi Arabia for talks about the war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Blinken’s comments came during a visit to Saudi Arabia for talks about the war between Israel and the Islamist Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The United States has in the past exercised its veto power on several resolutions calling for immediate ceasefires in the war between Israel and Hamas.
Hamas recently stated that Israel had an “overall negative” attitude to the six-week ceasefire proposed by the Palestinian organization. A new agreement between Israel and Hamas has been negotiating in Qatar for weeks. Last week, the Islamist Palestinian organization put forward a proposal for a six-week ceasefire and an exchange of 42 Israeli hostages for every 20 to 50 Palestinian prisoners.
Israel’s response to this proposal was “overall negative and does not correspond to the wishes of our people,” said a Hamas official. It also represents “a step backwards” and could hinder the negotiations and “lead to a dead end,” he emphasized. The Hamas representative did not provide further details about the Israeli position.
Pentagon: Israel should consider alternatives to Rafah offensive
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin has called on his Israeli counterpart Joav Galant to consider alternatives to a ground offensive in the refugee-filled city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made it clear on Wednesday that preparations for such an offensive still needed some time. But he wants to hold on to it.
The war in the Gaza Strip was triggered by Hamas’s unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7th, in which, according to Israeli information, around 1,160 people were killed and around 250 others were kidnapped as hostages in the Gaza Strip.
Since then, Israel has taken massive military action in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, which cannot be independently verified, more than 31,900 people have been killed so far.