UN to momentarily vote on resolution urging days-long pause on fighting in Gaza

After many delays, the UN Security Council is slated to momentarily vote on a resolution urging a days-long pause to the fighting in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, and to increase the amount of aid entering the Strip.

The vote was called after the US signaled it was ready to back the measure, the wording of which is vaguer than previous drafts and doesn’t include a call for an immediate end to the war. The resolution also urges the immediate release of all hostages captured during the Hamas-led terror onslaught on October 7.

The text “demands that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, notably with regard to the protection of civilians, calls for urgent and extended humanitarian pauses and corridors throughout the Gaza Strip for a sufficient number of days to enable full, rapid, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access and to enable urgent rescue and recovery efforts, and calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring immediate humanitarian access.”

The motion also calls for “the provision of humanitarian supplies in the Gaza Strip needs to be sufficient to alleviate the massive humanitarian needs of the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip.”

It’s unclear whether the resolution will be adopted. One council diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity because discussions are private, says Russia — which wants the resolution to include a call for “the urgent suspension of hostilities” — holds the key.