Sawt Falasteen - 'Not there yet': UN Security Council Gaza resolution stalled

Diplomatic wrangling at United Nations headquarters in Manhattan -- causing the vote to be postponed several times this week -- has come against the backdrop of deteriorating conditions in Gaza and a mounting death toll.

The United Arab Emirates is sponsoring a draft resolution on the conflict which has already been watered down to secure compromise, according to a draft version seen by AFP.

It calls for "the urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities."

But Washington's deputy ambassador to the UN Robert Wood indicated Thursday that the United States, a veto-wielding permanent Security Council member, was still not satisfied with the latest draft.

"We are still working it, still hoping to get to... be able to support it -- we're not there yet," Wood told reporters.

Some diplomats indicated to AFP they were still hopeful a vote would be held Thursday.

The UAE's ambassador to the UN Lana Zaki Nusseibeh said Thursday that "the gap is narrowing" as she headed into a closed door consultation -- but gave no indication of a timeline.

Members of the 15-member council have been grappling for days to find common ground on the resolution, a vote on which was pushed back several times since Monday.

- 'Desperate' situation -

Israel, backed by its ally the United States, has opposed the term "ceasefire," and Washington has used its veto twice to thwart resolutions opposed by Israel since the start of the war.

The latest delay was at the request of the United States, a diplomatic source said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday there would be no ceasefire in Gaza until the "elimination" of Hamas.

The draft text also calls for all sides to enable unhindered deliveries of aid by land, sea and air -- as well as the creation of a monitoring mechanism overseen "exclusively" by the UN.

Diplomatic sources say negotiations are now centered on this mechanism, with Israel insisting it retain full control of supplies that enter the blockaded Palestinian territory.

"Israel has had, understandably so, a role in the inspection regime -- a key role, a pivotal role -- and we understand and respect that," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said.

The diplomatic tussle came as the UN's hunger monitoring system warned that "every single person in war-torn Gaza is expected to face high levels of acute food insecurity in the next six weeks."

"The World Food Programme has been calling the situation desperate, and no one in Gaza is safe from starvation, they say. That's why we have all been calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire," said the UN secretary-general's spokesman, Stephane Dujarric.

Hamas infiltrated Israel on October 7 and killed around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures.

Israel responded with a relentless air and ground campaign. The Hamas government's media office in the Gaza Strip said Wednesday at least 20,000 people have been killed, among them 8,000 children and 6,200 women.

P.Tamimi--SF-PST