From the Liveblog of
Thursday, December 21, 2023
US has ‘concerns’ regarding brewing UN Security Council resolution on Gaza war
Jacob Magid is The Times of Israel's US bureau chief
A spokesperson for the US Mission to the UN says Washington has “concerns” with the UN Security Council resolution currently being negotiated regarding the Israel-Hamas war.
The resolution primarily deals with establishing a mechanism for a massive increase in the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza. However, its backers are also seeking to include language calling for some sort of cessation in the fighting, a senior diplomat at the UN tells The Times of Israel.
A vote on the resolution has been delayed several times as members have sought to get the US on board.
“The goal of this resolution is to facilitate and help expand humanitarian assistance getting into Gaza, and we cannot lose sight of that purpose,” says Nate Evans, the spokesman for the US mission.
“There are still serious and widespread concerns that this resolution as drafted could actually slow down delivery of humanitarian aid by directing the UN to create an unworkable monitoring mechanism,” he adds.
“We must ensure any resolution helps and doesn’t hurt the situation on the ground.”
The US supports humanitarian pauses in order for aid to come in and hostages to come out, but has said Hamas is blocking such a deal from being reached. The Biden administration remains against a more permanent ceasefire, arguing that it’ll leave in place the Hamas leadership that has pledged to repeat the October 7 massacre.
Hamas says it is not interested in a hostage deal that only includes a temporary pause in the fighting, leaving the sides at a crossroads.
