The United States has put the final touches on a draft resolution it intends to submit to the UN Security Council regarding the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, traditionally representing the last step before requesting a vote on text that “will support international efforts to broker an immediate ceasefire as part of a hostage release deal.”

The final draft, which Reuters said it had seen, "unequivocally supports international diplomatic efforts to reach an immediate and sustainable ceasefire within the framework of an agreement that releases the hostages and provides the basis for a more sustainable peace to alleviate human suffering."

It was not immediately clear when or if the United States would ask the 15-member council to vote on the text that was negotiated over the past month. Passing the resolution requires at least nine votes and no veto by the United States, France, Britain, Russia or China.

It is noteworthy that the United States wanted any Security Council support for the ceasefire to be linked to the release of hostages held by Hamas in Gaza.

The US-drafted Council resolution condemns the October 7 Hamas attacks and underscores concern that the Israeli ground attack on Rafah in southern Gaza “will lead to further harm and greater displacement of civilians, including the possibility of their displacement to neighboring countries.”

Washington was opposed to the word ceasefire.

It is noteworthy that since Israel launched its war on the besieged Gaza Strip, on October 7, which claimed the lives of 31,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and destroyed 80% of the Strip and most of the infrastructure, the United States has used its veto three times to prevent a ceasefire. More recently, the United States justified its veto by saying that such action in the Council could jeopardize efforts by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar to mediate an end to the war and the release of the hostages.