by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent
(Worthy News) – The U.S. has submitted a resolution to the United Nations demanding an immediate and lasting cease-fire in Gaza, along with the release of hostages, to apply pressure on Israel, the Wall Street Journal reported.
During his sixth visit to the Middle East since the outbreak of conflict on October 7, U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, in an interview with a Saudi-government-owned broadcaster, highlighted the significance of the UN draft resolution recently put forward, stating, “I think that would send a strong message, a strong signal.”
“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 cease-fire tied to the release of hostages, and we hope very much that countries will support that,” Mr. Blinken stated.
The draft resolution presented to the U.N. is expected to meet with opposition from certain Security Council members over its terms regarding the restart of operations in Gaza after a ceasefire.
The White House’s patience is wearing thin due to the ineffectiveness of its efforts to rein in Israel’s military, despite having offered support for months. The U.S. has issued warnings against Israel launching a major ground operation in Rafah, Hamas’s final stronghold, where four battalions are entrenched. The concern stems from the fact that Rafah is inhabited by approximately one million displaced Palestinians, whom Hamas is utilizing as human shields.
“What we don’t want to see is a major ground operation because we don’t see how that can be done without doing terrible harm to civilians,” Blinken emphasized. He added, “But at the same time, it is imperative to do something about Hamas because Hamas has brought nothing but death and destruction to Palestinians.”
Historically, the U.S. has traditionally used its Security Council position to veto any resolutions that would be detrimental to its ally Israel. However, in this case, it is using its influence at the United Nations to pressure Israel to avoid a ground operation in Rafah.
Negotiators propose a potential six-week ceasefire, during which 40 hostages would be exchanged. Mediators view this negotiation as a final opportunity to prevent an Israeli offensive on Rafah, the last significant urban area yet to be entered by the Israeli military. However, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu stated on Tuesday that his conversation with President Biden left no doubt about his resolve to proceed with the invasion of Rafah despite international efforts to broker peace.
Copyright 1999-2024 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
A massive barrage of Israeli airstrikes hit Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon just after the terrorist group’s leader declared that two days of intense hybrid bombings, including the detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies targeting Hezbollah forces, amounted to a declaration of war.
Facing relentless violence against their communities by Islamic jihadist terror groups, 16.2 million Christians in sub-Saharan Africa have now been forced to flee their homes and live in poverty-stricken Internally Displaced People (IDP) camps, the Christian Post (CP) reports.
A Pakistani court has sentenced Shagufta Kiran, a Christian mother of four, to death for “committing blasphemy against Islam,” a senior Christian advocacy activist told Worthy News Thursday.
Amid Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has reiterated that the kingdom would not recognize Israel without the establishment of a Palestinian state, the Times of Israel reports. The Crown Prince made his remarks during an annual speech to the advisory Shura Council on Wednesday (September 18).
Taiwanese company Gold Apollo says that the pager model allegedly used by Hezbollah members that simultaneously exploded and killed numerous people, mainly in Lebanon, was made by its Hungarian partner.
Israel has condemned an adopted United Nations resolution demanding that all Israeli forces and civilians pull out of Palestinian areas within a year. The resolution also called for an embargo on arms that Israel might use in those areas.
Israel’s atomic chief has warned that Syria built an undeclared nuclear facility after Iran, which he said has “in alarming amounts conducting covert nuclear activities.”