The United States has submitted a new draft resolution to the United Nations Security Council, which calls for an immediate cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza that is directly tied to a hostage release.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Saudi media outlet Al Hadath on Wednesday evening that the new resolution would put an end to fierce fighting in the Palestinian territory and urged the international body to support it.
“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. It would allow a much greater expansion of humanitarian assistance getting to them, and it could create the conditions to have a lasting, enduring ceasefire, which is also what we want to see. So that’s the urgency in this moment. That’s what we’re pressing, with Qatar and Egypt working closely with us to try to get an agreement,” Blinken told Al Hadath.
Blinken added: “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. I think that would send a strong message, a strong signal.”
Speaking in Saudi Arabia, Blinken again struck a neutral tone in supporting Israel’s right to defend itself from terror while calling for an end to the war, citing civilian casualties.
“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 said.
“And we’ve been leading the effort to do that, to get more in, to get more to the people who need it. We are pressing on that as hard as we can,” he continued. “Israel needs to open up more access points to Gaza. We’ve seen some progress there, including a new access point that was opened just about a week ago. The ones that are already – that already exist, we have to get more assistance through on a regular basis, and all of this is necessary to do it, to make sure that as much assistance as possible is coming in through as many points as possible, reaching as many people as possible.
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