The US proposed a UN Security Council resolution warning against an Israeli assault on Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip and calling for a temporary cease-fire, according to a copy of the draft text seen by Bloomberg.
A major offensive in Rafah “would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement including potentially into neighbouring countries, which would have serious implications for regional peace and security,” the text says.
The US has so far been reluctant to back cease-fire proposals in the four-month old conflict. But frustration has grown with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has signaled he would move ahead with a full-scale invasion of the city despite demands from US President Joe Biden and European leaders to first establish a plan ensure the safety of civilians.
Rafah’s population has swelled from some 250,000 to more than 1 million as Palestinians from across the territory seek refuge there. The UN’s Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said last week an invasion would be “catastrophic.”
The draft proposal follows previous signals from the US, which holds council veto power, that it would likely block a push from Algeria demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire, saying this could jeopardize ongoing negotiations for a pause in the war. That vote could come as soon as Tuesday.
Israel has been at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 invasion of southern Israel, during which some 1,200 people were killed and more than 200 were taken hostage. Since the fighting began, more than 28,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to health officials in the Hamas-run territory.
