US calls for UN Security Council vote on Gaza ceasefire proposal

The United Nations Security Council was expected to adopt a US-proposed ceasefire deal on Monday aimed at ending eight months of bloody fighting between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, two senior diplomatic sources said. plan to NBC News.

The text of the proposal, which President Joe Biden helped draft, was finalized Sunday after nearly a week of negotiations among members of the 15-member council.

For it to pass, the resolution requires at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes from countries that have the power to send any ceasefire proposal back to the drawing board – the United States, France , Great Britain, China or Russia.

And neither Russia nor China should block it, a U.N. diplomat and a European diplomat told NBC News.

In March, China and Russia passed a ceasefire resolution in Gaza, saying it would give Israel the green light to attack the town of Rafah. Before that, the United States vetoed three draft resolutions, two of which would have demanded an immediate ceasefire.

Biden announced on May 31 that Israel had proposed a three-part plan that would ultimately result in a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, as well as the release of all hostages held there since October 7, when Hamas launched a bloody operation. surprise attack on Israel.

More than 36,000 Palestinians, including thousands of women and children, have since been killed by Israeli forces, according to Gaza health authorities.

Nate Evans, spokesman for the U.S. mission to the U.N., said Sunday it was important for the Security Council to pressure Hamas to accept a proposal that Israel has accepted.

“Israel has accepted this proposal and the Security Council has the opportunity to speak with one voice and call on Hamas to do the same,” he said.

But there are signs that Israel may not adhere to this proposal.

The dramatic rescue of four hostages on Saturday strengthened Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's resolve to press ahead with the invasion of Gaza rather than agree to a ceasefire, a senior Biden administration official told NBC News.

Additionally, given that many Palestinian civilians died as a result of the Israeli rescue raid, Hamas military leader Yahya Sinwar, who has opposed any deal with Israel despite intense pressure from Qatar and Egypt for a deal, may now take an even harder line.

And just as the Security Council begins voting on Monday, Secretary of State Antony Blinken will land in Israel to begin trying to overturn the resignation of the centrist member of Israel's war cabinet, retired Gen. Benny Gantz.

Gantz, who resigned on Sunday, accused Netanyahu of mishandling the war and refusing to agree on what will happen to Gaza after hostilities end.

Blinken and other members of the Biden administration had tried to persuade Gantz to stay in government because his departure would force Netanyahu to rely more on far-right members of his coalition who oppose any ceasefire -fire with Hamas.

Before leaving, Blinken told reporters at a news conference in Cairo that it was up to Israelis to decide who would be part of their government. But, he added, if there is no ceasefire in Gaza, three scenarios could happen – all bad.

“Either Israel should stay, which it says it doesn't want to do, and we think it shouldn't, and we'll find ourselves holding the bag in Gaza,” Blinken said.

Second, it could lead to “a major insurrection” that would continue for years, he said.

Finally, Blinken said, “in the absence of a plan, that means the return of Hamas, or we have a total vacuum and you have nothing but chaos, anarchy, crime, jihadist groups, etc.”

Israel says more than 1,200 people were killed and more than 250 taken hostage by Hamas on October 7. More than 100 hostages are believed to remain captive in Gaza, including five Americans: Edan Alexander, Sagui Dekel-Chen, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Omer Neutra and Keith Siegel.