Washington has so far avoided using the word truce in any context of the United Nations and the Israel-Hamas war, but the draft of the new resolution repeats terms President Joe Biden used last week during talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Voice of America reports.
The US draft resolution states that "it is determined that under current circumstances, a major ground offensive in Rafah would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement, possibly to neighboring countries." The offensive "would have serious consequences for regional peace and security" and therefore it is emphasized that "it should not be carried out under the current circumstances".
It is not known when the 15-member Security Council could rule on the US resolution submitted after Algeria asked the world body on Saturday to rule on the country's resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. The American ambassador to the UN quickly signaled that she would veto the Algerian resolution.
In order for the resolution to be adopted, it needs to be supported by at least 9 members, without the USA, France, Britain, Russia or China vetoing it.
Washington traditionally protects Israel from UN moves that do not suit it and has already twice vetoed Security Council resolutions since October 7 last year. However, he also twice abstained and allowed the Council to adopt resolutions calling for more aid to Gaza and an immediate and longer humanitarian pause in the fighting.
America, Egypt, Israel and Qatar are negotiating a ceasefire and the release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.
The EU is also asking for the cessation of hostilities
In Brussels, 26 out of 27 members of the European Union called for an "urgent humanitarian pause that would lead to a sustainable ceasefire" in Gaza, the EU's high representative for foreign policy, Josep Borrell, told reporters.
Borelj added that 26 member states agreed to "demand an urgent humanitarian pause that would lead to a sustainable ceasefire, the unconditional release of hostages and the delivery of humanitarian aid."
Hungary, which is a strong ally of Israel, did not join the EU's request.
The European Union has also warned Israel against launching an offensive in Rafah, saying it would lead to disaster for the city's 1,5 million refugees.
"An attack on Rafah would be absolutely catastrophic, it would be unthinkable," Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin said before the meeting.
Israel's threats if Hamas does not release the hostages by Ramadan
Israeli forces carried out airstrikes and ground operations in the southern Gaza Strip on Monday, as the local health ministry controlled by the extremist group Hamas said the number of Palestinians killed there since October had exceeded 29.000, Voice of America reported.
The Israeli military on Monday reported attacks on Khan Younis, southern Gaza's largest city, as international concern grows over a planned Israeli offensive on the nearby town of Rafah.
Retired Israeli general Benny Gantz, who is a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's war cabinet, said that if Hamas does not release the remaining hostages it is holding in Gaza before the Muslim holy holiday of Ramadan, "to continue fighting to the area of โโRafah".
Gantz also said that any Israeli offensive in Rafah would be carried out in coordination with Egypt and the United States in order to facilitate the evacuation and "civilian casualties were minimized".
With Rafah next to the Egyptian border and other towns in the Gaza Strip already devastated by the Israeli offensive, it is unclear where Palestinian civilians can safely go.
Israel refuses to recognize a Palestinian state
Israel has rejected international calls, including calls from its main ally the United States, to "unilateral recognition" of Palestinian statehood, saying that such an agreement can only be reached through negotiations.
Netanyahu brought before his government, as he said, "irrevocable decision" on Palestinian statehood, which unanimously approved it.
The announcement states that the Jewish state "categorically rejects international decrees on a permanent arrangement with the Palestinians".
Efforts to reach a two-state solution - an independent Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza on either side of Israel - have stalled since 2014.
But with the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza now in its fifth month, the US and other countries have renewed calls for a Palestinian state to end the fighting. US President Joe Biden has called for an even broader agreement on the Middle East that would include Saudi Arabia and other Arab states that normalize diplomatic relations with Israel.
Rejecting Palestinian statehood, Israel said in a statement that such recognition, which comes after a shocking attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, would โdIt gave a huge and unprecedented reward to terrorism and prevented any future peace agreement".
Netanyahu vowed to continue the fight against Hamas until it achieves "absolute victory". The US has so far tried unsuccessfully to broker a new ceasefire and the release of more than 100 hostages still held by Hamas in Gaza.
Netanyahu said Hamas's demands that Israel withdraw its troops from Gaza and leave the extremists in control of the territory with the ability to rebuild its weapons arsenal were an "illusion."
The war began with an attack by Hamas, in which 1.200 people were killed in Israel and about 240 hostages were taken. The United States, the EU and Great Britain consider Hamas a terrorist organization.
