US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that the resolution, which Algeria presented on behalf of the Arab group of UN members, “would send the wrong message to Hamas” and “would actually give them something they asked for without asking them for it.” Do something in return.”
Instead, Thomas-Greenfield called on council members to support an alternative US resolution, still in draft form, that would demand that Israel – along with agreeing to a “temporary ceasefire as soon as possible” to enable the hostages' release – refrain from any major step. Attack Rafah and take “immediate action” to allow unhindered flow of humanitarian aid into the Strip through additional land and sea entry points.
So far, direct US appeals to Israel on all of these points have received little positive response, at least publicly. President Biden, under pressure at home and abroad to use American influence more effectively, has become increasingly direct, calling Israel's military tactics “overblown,” even as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would not bow to international demands until complete victory was achieved. Hamas is achieved.
The United States stood alone in opposing the call for an immediate ceasefire and requested more time to negotiate. With the exception of Britain, which abstained from voting, the remaining 15 members of the Council voted in favor of the Algerian resolution, which also demands the release of all hostages.
In their angry and sad speeches, one country's ambassador after another indicated that they had had enough.
French Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière said after voting in favor of the resolution: “The human losses and humanitarian situation in Gaza are unbearable, and Israeli operations must stop.”
China's envoy Zhang Jun said: “It is not that the Security Council does not have an overriding consensus, but rather it is the US exercise of its veto that has stifled the Council's consensus.”
Egyptian Ambassador Osama Mahmoud Abdel Khaleq Mahmoud, whose government is involved, along with Qatar and the United States, in hostage negotiation efforts between Israel and Hamas, said the veto was “a blatant example of double standards.” Mahmoud expressed his “disappointment and frustration as a result of American obstruction.”
He said that instead of derailing discussion on the release of the hostages, the rejected resolution would have created “the conditions for its success.”
The negotiations themselves, which were initially expected to move quickly after the proposed “framework” was presented to Israel and Hamas nearly three weeks ago, have not been going well. “We've made some good progress [the] Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman Al Thani said on Saturday at the Munich Security Conference, “The past few weeks… but the past few days have not progressed as expected.”
He said that if agreements on outstanding issues could be reached “in the next few days, I think we could see an agreement reached very soon.” …But the last few days really haven't been very promising.
On Tuesday, the Biden administration sent one of its biggest weapons on the issue — National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East Brett McGurk — to Cairo and Tel Aviv “specifically to see if we can execute this hostage deal,” NSC spokesman John Kirby said. To reporters at the White House. “We are at a very sensitive time now, as these discussions continue.”
The United States is striving to expand the scope of the previous week-long truce in the war between Israel and Gaza in November, which led to the release of 105 hostages, women and children, captured by Hamas during its attack on Gaza on October 7. Southern Israel. This attack killed about 1,200 Israelis and led to widespread military retaliation.
The new framework provides for a cessation of hostilities for a period of six weeks. The proposed US resolution was first called a “ceasefire,” albeit a temporary one that Biden administration officials hope will last long enough to lead to something more permanent.
An administration official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive diplomacy, described the US draft resolution as a “positive vision” that would place demands on Israel as well as Hamas, and contain a firm commitment to a long-term solution to a permanent settlement. Peace and reconstruction of Gaza. Thomas-Greenfield called on other governments to consult on the document but gave no indication of when it might be put to a vote.
Ongoing Israeli operations in Gaza have killed nearly 30,000 people, according to Gaza health officials. Hundreds of thousands of civilians fled into southern Gaza when Israel began its air and ground offensive in the north, but it is estimated that up to 300,000 people remain there. While aid delivery has been difficult throughout the Strip, few have been able to reach northern Gaza due to ongoing fighting, destroyed roads, and Israel's denial of passage.
After civilian looters attacked its trucks, the World Food Program said on Tuesday it would suspend what it called “life-saving” aid deliveries to the north over safety concerns, amid what it described as “unprecedented levels of desperation” across Gaza.
Israel has repeatedly said that sufficient aid has been provided and has accused UNRWA, the UN agency that is the main distributor of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians, of cooperating with Hamas and allowing it to steal aid. Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, told the Security Council on Tuesday that “UNRWA is a terrorist organization.” “In Gaza, Hamas is the United Nations and the United Nations is Hamas.”
Many who fled the devastation in the north are now crammed into tents, makeshift shelters and the streets of Rafah, along the Egyptian border, after Israel changed the focal point of its attack. To the southern city of Khan Yunis, to pursue what it says are Hamas leaders who have taken refuge in a network of tunnels.
“Absolutely nothing has changed about our desire to eliminate the threat posed by Hamas,” Kirby said. “We don't think the Hamas leadership should be able to get away here after what happened on October 7th.”
But he repeated Biden's warning to Israel against attacking Rafah without a “credible and implementable plan” to protect civilians. He said: “We do not support major operations in Rafah that do not properly take into account…the safety and security of these millions who are finding refuge.” “I am not yet aware of a credible plan to do so at this time.” Kirby said McGurk will repeat that message when he arrives in Israel on Thursday.
Netanyahu said that canceling or postponing the attack on Rafah would be tantamount to telling Israel to “lose the war” against Hamas. He reiterated on Tuesday that Israel would not change course.
Netanyahu said: “We are committed to continuing the war until all its goals are achieved.” “There's no pressure, there's no, that can change this.”
Israel has indicated that the attack on Rafah will take place before the beginning of the month of Ramadan on March 10.
This has become the deadline for reaching a hostage deal. Israel described Hamas's counter-proposal to release 1,500 Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons as “fake”. The negotiating framework stipulates the release of three prisoners for every hostage – the same conditions as the temporary pause in November.
Officials noted that humanitarian aid is now the biggest problem, with Hamas demanding at least 500 trucks enter Gaza daily. Negotiators are concerned that unless new roads are allowed to open, it will be difficult to exceed the current level of 200 roads on a good day.
