Israel faces a new round of international pressure today, Tuesday, for a ceasefire in Gaza, with an expected vote at the United Nations and new Western diplomatic efforts, despite the United States’ pledge to continue arming its ally, Israel.
The UN Security Council is scheduled to meet today to discuss a call for a ceasefire in the besieged Gaza Strip, after the United States used its veto against a previous attempt.
The draft resolution called for an “urgent and sustained cessation of hostilities” in Gaza to allow “safe and unimpeded humanitarian access.”
The draft resolution was scheduled to be voted on – yesterday, Monday – but the United Arab Emirates, which submitted the final text, requested that the vote be postponed until Tuesday in order to allow complex negotiations to continue, according to what diplomatic sources told Agence France-Presse.
The State of Qatar, which contributed significantly to mediating a week-long truce last month, also stated that there are ongoing diplomatic efforts to renew the humanitarian truce outside the United Nations process.
In addition, British Foreign Secretary David Cameron is scheduled to meet with the French and Italian presidents to push for a “sustainable ceasefire” in the Israeli war on Gaza, according to his office.
International concern escalated about the conditions of the residents of the Gaza Strip, who were forced to endure daily Israeli bombing, scarcity of food, medicine, and water, power outages, and mass displacement.
Yesterday, Monday, the European Union’s chief diplomat, Josep Borrell, accused Israel of a “horrific lack of discrimination” in its campaign on the Gaza Strip between civilian targets and resistance. Human Rights Watch also said yesterday that Israel is using starvation of civilians in the Gaza Strip as a weapon, which constitutes a war crime.
Since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip on October 7, as of yesterday, Monday, 19,453 Palestinians have been martyred, in addition to 52,286 wounded, most of them children and women, in addition to the massive destruction of infrastructure and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged Strip.
Unconditional American support
On the other hand, US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin pledged, during his visit to Israel yesterday, Monday, to continue arming Tel Aviv, which Washington has already provided with military aid worth billions of dollars.
“We will continue to provide Israel with the equipment you need to defend your country… including vital munitions, tactical vehicles and air defense systems,” Austin said.
Austin was on a Middle Eastern tour amid growing concern that the conflict would spread to the region, as the Yemeni Houthi group is intercepting and attacking cargo ships heading to Israel through Bab al-Mandab, in solidarity with the Gaza Strip in the face of Israeli aggression.