Negotiations in the UN Security Council are dragging on. While its 15 members were scheduled to vote on a new resolution to improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, December 20, the vote was postponed again. Originally scheduled for Monday, it could take place on Thursday. The Security Council, widely criticized for its inaction since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, has been negotiating this four-page text for several days, supported by the United Arab Emirates. “I hope that we can find a satisfactory solution,” said Anthony Blinken, the head of American diplomacy, explaining Israel’s support in the conflict. Follow our live stream.
On the way to another halt in fighting? The United States has confirmed that negotiations on a possible new ceasefire between Hamas and Israel are continuing. “We are confident they will be successful,” White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday. “We have been working on this since the end of the last break,” he added.
Benjamin Netanyahu rules out a ceasefire. “Those who think we will stop are out of touch with reality,” the Israeli prime minister said in a video released on Wednesday. The head of Hamas's political wing, Ismail Haniyeh, arrived in Cairo on Wednesday to discuss the situation in Gaza with Egyptian officials. Follow our live stream.
A convoy carrying 750 tons of food aid arrived in Gaza. The shipment of these 46 trucks, organized by the World Food Program and a Jordanian humanitarian NGO, required “weeks of coordination with all parties,” the UN agency explains in a press release. The convoy passed through the recently reopened Kerem Shalom border crossing on the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip.
Hamas is not mentioned in the draft resolution. The text presented by the United Arab Emirates condemns “all indiscriminate attacks on civilians” and “all acts of terrorism” and calls for the release of the hostages. But like previous draft resolutions castigated by Israel and the United States, it does not mention Hamas by name. This latest version also calls for parties to the conflict to facilitate the entry and distribution of humanitarian aid to Gaza and calls on the UN Secretary-General to establish a mechanism to monitor aid.