The US has issued a draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council calling for the immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hamas that would be connected to the release of hostages, Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced Wednesday evening.
“We’re pressing for an immediate ceasefire tied to the release of hostages. That would bring immediate relief to so many people who are suffering in Gaza – the children, the women, the men,” Blinken told Saudi media outlet Al Hadath.
“We actually have a resolution that we put forward right now that’s before the United Nations Security Council that does call for an immediate ceasefire tied to the release of hostages, and we hope very much that countries will support that,” Blinken said. “I think that would send a strong message, a strong signal.”
Blinken is in Saudi Arabia on his sixth trip to the Middle East since the Hamas terror group launched its surprise attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
News of the proposal comes a month after the US again used its veto on a draft UN Security Council resolution calling for a cease-fire in the five-month-long war.
At the time, the US was pushing for its own cease-fire proposal that included a hostage-exchange deal.
“Of course, we stand with Israel and its right to defend itself… but at the same time, it’s imperative that the civilians who are in harm’s way and who are suffering so terribly — that we focus on them, that we make them a priority, protecting the civilians, getting them humanitarian assistance,” Blinken added.
Blinken’s current tour runs parallel with talks in Qatar, where mediators met for a third day on Wednesday in a renewed effort to secure a ceasefire but with little indication of an imminent agreement.
The plan being discussed in Qatar would temporarily halt the fighting as Israeli hostages are exchanged for Palestinian prisoners and the delivery of relief supplies is stepped up.
The Israel-Hamas war has led to 1,160 deaths in Israel, a majority of which have been civilians.
Hamas terrorists have also captured 250 hostages, 130 believed to be still in Gaza, including 33 who are presumed dead.
Israel’s counteroffensive has resulted in the deaths of nearly 32,000 people living in the Gaza strip, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
This is a developing story…
With Post wires.
