Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, who traveled to the Middle East on Thursday, urged an end to the fighting in Gaza as the United States prepared to introduce a resolution at the United Nations on Friday calling for “an immediate and permanent cessation “ is required. Fire.”
The Security Council resolution drafted by the United States contains the strongest language Washington has supported to date and appeared to represent a shift for Israel’s closest ally. In February, the United States vetoed a Council resolution calling for an immediate A ceasefire was called for on humanitarian grounds.
The new resolution also condemns the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, which sparked the war and hostage crisis that day, and expresses support for negotiations to release those still held in Gaza.
When the United States vetoed the earlier resolution, American officials said they did so because they feared it could disrupt hostage negotiations. But Biden administration officials have become more vocal in their push for a ceasefire in recent weeks as experts have warned of looming famine in Gaza and pressure mounts for stronger international action.
The resolution, circulated by U.S. diplomats and obtained by The New York Times on Thursday, said the council “determines the need for an immediate and permanent ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides, enable the delivery of essential humanitarian assistance and relief.” “We commend the humanitarian suffering and, to this end, we fully support the ongoing international diplomatic efforts to secure such a ceasefire in conjunction with the release of all remaining hostages.”
The resolution also notes “deep concern about the risk of conflict-related famines and epidemics.”
The call for an “immediate and permanent” ceasefire was much stronger than a draft Security Council resolution circulated by the United States in February that called for a temporary ceasefire “as soon as possible.”
The Biden administration also used the resolution to reiterate its opposition to Israel’s planned invasion of the southern Gaza town of Rafah, which is full of war refugees. It “expresses concern that a ground offensive in Rafah would lead to further harm to civilians and their further displacement, possibly to neighboring countries.”
On Thursday, Mr. Blinken met in Egypt with President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi as well as several Arab foreign ministers – including those from Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority – to discuss how Gaza will look after the war could be regulated and kept safe.
The group also planned to discuss providing more aid to civilians in the Gaza Strip caught in a humanitarian crisis.
Mr. Blinken had arrived from Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he said in an interview with the Saudi-run news channel Al Hadath that he hoped other countries would support the U.S.-proposed Security Council resolution. “I think that would be a strong message, a strong signal,” he said.
He also said that ceasefire negotiations between Hamas and Israel, brokered by Egypt and Qatar, were “moving closer to an agreement.” Negotiators have been in Qatar since Monday for the latest round of talks after several previous attempts ended without a solution.
On Thursday, Mr. Blinken said there remained obstacles to an agreement.
“There are still real challenges,” he told a news conference in Cairo alongside his Egyptian counterpart. “We have closed the gaps, but there are still gaps.”
Last week, Hamas put forward a new proposal that excluded an earlier demand that Israel immediately agree to a permanent ceasefire in exchange for beginning a hostage exchange of Palestinians in Israeli prisons, people familiar with the negotiations say. Israeli officials said ahead of this week’s talks that the sweeping proposal being discussed calls for a 42-day pause in fighting in return for the release of 40 of the more than 100 hostages believed to be in Gaza.
Mr. Blinken also held a late-night meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman where he emphasized the Biden administration’s ultimate goal, “the establishment of a future Palestinian state with security guarantees for Israel,” the State Department spokesman said. Matthew Miller said in a statement Thursday.
He said Mr. Blinken and the crown prince “continued discussions about achieving lasting peace and security in the region, including through greater integration of countries in the region and increased bilateral cooperation between the United States and Saudi Arabia .”
The reference referred to talks between the Biden administration and Saudi Arabia over a possible deal that would see the kingdom establish normal diplomatic relations with Israel for the first time. In return, the Saudis have demanded security guarantees, arms sales and support for a civilian nuclear program from the United States.
Such an agreement would most likely require Israel’s support on the path to Palestinian statehood.
Mr. Blinken plans to travel on to Israel, where he will discuss the possible Saudi normalization agreement and ways to protect and provide further assistance to civilians there.
Thursday’s diplomatic efforts came as the Israeli military’s raid on Gaza’s largest medical center stretched into a fourth day. The military said Thursday that it had killed dozens of people it described as terrorists in and around Al-Shifa hospital in central Gaza in the past 24 hours.
Israel has carried out a series of raids on the hospital. Since the latest attack began on Monday, the Israeli military reported killing more than 140 suspected terrorists, far more than in previous strikes. On Thursday, the military said it was also holding 600 people in hospital.
Israel has said Hamas used the hospital as a command center and hid weapons and fighters in underground tunnels there.
Reporting was contributed by Victoria Kim, Matthew Mpoke Bigg, Hiba Yazbek and Lauren Leatherby.
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2024-03-21 23:23:17
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