US calls for immediate CEASEFIRE ‘linked to the release of hostages’ in Gaza – as Antony Blinken submits draft UN resolution

The United States has introduced a draft United Nations resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, Anthony Blinked announced.

Blinken, the US Secretary of State, announced the push for peace in the war-torn Middle East early Thursday morning during a trip to Saudi Arabia.

The US submitted the resolution to the UN Security Council, calling for an “immediate ceasefire regarding the release of hostages.” Hamas, the terrorist organization that controls the Gaza Strip, took more than a thousand Israelis hostage on October 7.

The ensuing violence has since led to thousands of civilian deaths.

Blinken said, “We have in fact introduced a resolution that is now before the Security Council calling for an immediate ceasefire related to the release of the hostages, and we sincerely hope that countries will support it.”

Protesters hold banners during a protest calling for the release of Israeli hostages held in Gaza since the October 7 attacks by Hamas militants in Tel Aviv on March 14, 2024

Last week, Hamas presented a ceasefire proposal in Gaza to mediators and the US, which would broker the release of Israeli hostages in exchange for the freedom of Palestinian prisoners, 100 of whom are serving life sentences.

The group said the first release of Israelis would include women, children, elderly and sick hostages in exchange for the release of 700 to 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, according to the proposal. The release of Israeli ‘female recruits’ is included.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said last Thursday that a new Gaza ceasefire proposal presented by Hamas to mediators was still based on “unrealistic demands.”

Egypt and Qatar have also sought to narrow differences between Israel and Hamas over what a ceasefire should look like – as a deepening humanitarian crisis has left a quarter of the population in the battered Gaza Strip facing famine.

Hamas said ceasefire negotiations have failed in recent weeks due to Netanyahu’s rejection of his demands, including a permanent ceasefire, the Israeli withdrawal from the strip, the return of the displaced the south of the enclave to the center and north, and to increase aid without restrictions.

In February, Hamas received a draft proposal from the Gaza ceasefire talks in Paris, which included a 40-day pause in all military operations and the exchange of Palestinian prisoners for Israeli hostages at a ratio of 10 to one – a similar ratio to the new proposal for a ceasefire. .

A displaced Palestinian man sits on a donkey cart with his belongings amid the rubble of houses destroyed by Israeli bombing, west of Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip on March 14

Israel also rejected that draft proposal, citing its long-held goal of ending the war only after Hamas was destroyed. Hamas insists that an agreement must end the war.

Egypt is also trying to reach a ceasefire in Gaza, increase access to aid and allow displaced people in the south of the enclave to move north, President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said.

Sisi also warned in a recorded message of the danger of an Israeli raid on the border town of Rafah.

Meanwhile, Australia said it would resume funding to the United Nations’ main Palestinian aid agency, almost two months after severing ties over allegations that some of the organization’s employees took part in the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel.