The United States distributes a competing UN resolution for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza

The proposed resolution says that the planned major Israeli ground attack on the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where about 1.5 million Palestinians have sought refuge in search of safety, “should not continue under the current circumstances.” He warns that further displacement of civilians, “including the possibility of their displacement to neighboring countries,” referring to Egypt, will have serious implications for regional peace and security.

The Security Council is expected to vote on Tuesday morning on the draft resolution, which has Arab support and was circulated by Algeria, which represents the 22 Arab countries in the most powerful body of the United Nations.

In addition to the ceasefire, the final Algerian draft, obtained by the AP, also calls for the immediate release of all hostages and reiterates the council's demands that Israel and Hamas “strictly adhere” to international law, especially the protection of civilians, and rejects the ceasefire resolution. Forced displacement of Palestinian civilians.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said in a statement on Sunday that the United States has been working on a hostage deal for months that would bring a period of calm of at least six weeks “in which we can take the time and necessary steps to build.” A more lasting peace.”

She said that US President Joe Biden made multiple calls over the past week with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the leaders of Egypt and Qatar to push the deal forward. Qatar said on Saturday that the talks “did not progress as expected.”

“Although gaps remain, essential elements are on the table,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “This remains the best opportunity to reunite hostages with their families and provide a long cessation of fighting that would allow life-saving aid to reach Palestinian civilians who desperately need it.”

In contrast, the Arab-backed resolution will not achieve these results, “and may even contradict them,” she said. “For this reason, the United States does not support taking action on this draft resolution. If it is put to a vote in its current form, it will not be adopted.”

US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood told several reporters on Monday that the Algeria draft is not “an effective mechanism to try to do the three things we want to see happen — which is getting the hostages out, getting more aid in, and a long pause in this conflict.” “.

Wood said that as for the American draft, “what we are looking at is another possible option and we will discuss this matter with friends in the future.” “I don't think you can expect anything to happen tomorrow.”

Arab countries, supported by many of the 193 UN member states, have been demanding a ceasefire for months as the Israeli military offensive intensifies in response to the Hamas attack, with the Palestinian death toll now exceeding 29,000, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants, but says that the majority are women and children.

The head of the Arab group this month, Tunisia's UN Ambassador Tariq Ladeeb, told UN reporters last Wednesday that some 1.5 million Palestinians seeking safety in the southern Gaza city of Rafah face a “catastrophic scenario” if Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with an evacuation. Possible. Civilians and military attack in the area bordering Egypt.

Netanyahu ordered the army to develop a plan to evacuate Rafah, but Israel did not announce a plan or timetable.

The Algerian draft resolution also expresses “deep concern about the serious and urgently deteriorating humanitarian situation” in Gaza and reiterates the Council’s call for unimpeded humanitarian access to all parts of the Strip, where UN officials say a quarter of the 2.3 million people face famine.