Draft UNSC resolution calls to release hostages, stresses importance of unifying Gaza, West Bank under PA

The draft resolution set to be brought to a vote later Monday calls for an “urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza Strip” and the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”

Like the previous resolution, vetoed by the US, demanding a ceasefire brought to a vote in the Security Council on December 9, the new draft text too does not explicitly name Hamas but does vaguely condemn “all indiscriminate attacks against civilians.”

The text also affirms support for a two-state solution in the region and “stresses the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.”

Israel’s war with Hamas in Gaza was triggered by the group’s onslaught in Israel on October 7, when thousands of Hamas-led terrorists flooded into Israel via land, air and sea, massacring more than 1,200 people and seizing some 240 hostages of all ages — mostly civilians — under the cover of a deluge of thousands of rockets fired at Israeli towns and cities.

In response, Israel vowed to eliminate the terror group, and waged a wide-scale offensive in Gaza which the Hamas-run health ministry says has left more than 18,800 people dead. These figures cannot be independently verified, and are believed to include both civilians and Hamas members killed in Gaza, including as a consequence of terror groups’ own rocket misfires.

The UN and other world bodies have warned of a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as millions are displaced, and amid new reports that aid is being stolen and looted by Palestinian gunmen.

Last week, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a nonbinding resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and the immediate, unconditional release of all hostages. the The UNGA’s 193 members voted overwhelmingly for a ceasefire, with 153 in favor — exceeding the 140 or so countries that have routinely backed resolutions condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

The upcoming Security Council resolution was introduced by Arab countries that had come away from last Tuesday’s General Assembly vote bolstered by such broad international support, though the latest text’s fate remains uncertain.

According to diplomatic sources, negotiations on the new text are ongoing.

The US is looking to amend the language on the cessation of hostilities, diplomats told Reuters earlier.

“We have engaged constructively and transparently throughout the entire process in an effort to unite around a product that will pass,” a US official said, speaking on condition of anonymity, according to Reuters. “The UAE knows exactly what can pass and what cannot — it is up to them if they want to get this done.”

Washington has been pressing Israel to wrap up the current phase of “high intensity” fighting in Gaza quickly and to bring an end to its ferocious military campaign, sparked by Hamas’s October 7 shock assault, and instead focus more on pinpoint operations.

Israeli leaders, however, have continued to vow that the IDF would push ahead with the military offensive in Gaza until Hamas’s defeat.