UN Security Council Vote on Gaza Cease-fire Faces US Veto

Israel’s military on Tuesday reported intense fighting in the Khan Younis area of the Gaza Strip, while the U.N. Security Council prepared to vote on an Algeria-drafted resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire, scaled up aid access and rejecting the forced displacement of Palestinians.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield has said the United States would use its Security Council veto power to block the resolution, which she said could hurt mediation efforts.

Ahead of the vote, the U.S. circulated its own draft resolution to council members. Seen by VOA, it places emphasis on the release of the hostages held by Hamas and notes the “urgent need for a viable plan” to protect civilians from an Israeli offensive in Rafah.

The U.S. proposal “underscores that such a major ground offensive should not proceed under current circumstances” and “rejects any other effort at forced displacement of the civilian population in Gaza.”

The U.S. has no timeline to put its resolution before the council. A senior administration official said the U.S. would give time for the council to negotiate on the text and had no plans to call for an imminent vote.

Weeks of negotiations involving the United States, Egypt and Qatar have failed to produce a deal to halt the fighting in Gaza and secure the release of the hostages.

Israel has warned it plans to carry out an offensive in Rafah, the area of southern Gaza along the Egyptian border where 1.5 million Palestinian civilians have sought safety.

Israeli officials have a Rafah operation is necessary to target Hamas members there. The officials have also mentioned evacuations of civilians without providing any detailed plans.

United Nations officials have repeatedly said no place is safe for civilians to go in Gaza.

Egypt objects to the evacuation of Palestinians into its territory, saying it would amount to their forced displacement. Israel denies that is its intention.

Satellite images show that Egypt has started building a high security buffer zone near the border with Gaza in case of a mass exodus.

U.N. agencies said Monday that malnutrition is rising among Gaza’s children and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. The situation is most severe in the northern part of the territory, which has been cut off from aid deliveries for weeks.

Humanitarian agencies say the situation is entirely preventable if more and sustained aid can get through.

Israel began its military campaign to eliminate Hamas after the group’s fighters crossed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people according to Israeli tallies and taking about 250 others hostage. Hamas, designated a terror group by the U.S., the U.K. and EU, is believed to still be holding about 130 hostages in Gaza, including 30 who are believed to be dead.

Israel released video Monday of what it believes is hostage Shiri Bibas and her two young boys, Ariel, 4, and Kfir, 9 months, being led along a dirt street in Khan Younis shortly after their Oct. 7 abduction. Their father, Yarden Bibas, is also still held hostage.

Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari, the military’s chief spokesperson, said the army found the videos in security cameras seized during its offensive in Khan Younis.

Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 29,000 Palestinians and injured 69,000 others, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

VOA United Nations correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some material in this report came from The Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse.