US submits UN resolution calling for immediate ceasefire in Gaza, says Blinken

The United States has submitted a UN resolution that calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza in exchange for the return of hostages held by Hamas, secretary of state Antony Blinken has said.

It comes just days after a UN report warned that widespread famine was “imminent” in northern Gaza, and a “major acceleration of death” would follow if an immediate ceasefire is not reached.

Following weeks of increasing pressure from its allies at home and abroad over the humanitarian crisis caused by the war, Mr Blinken said in an interview that the US had drafted a security council resolution “that’s before the United Nations Security Council that does call for an immediate ceasefire tied to the release of hostages, and we hope very much that countries will support that”.

The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken as he departs Jeddah for Cairo on 21 March 2024

He added that a halt in the fighting “would bring immediate relief to so many people who are suffering in Gaza” and allow “a much greater expansion of humanitarian assistance getting to them”.

The US blocked a similar UN resolution submitted by Arab states that called for an immediate ceasefire a little more than a month ago, and put forward an alternative one that called for a temporary ceasefire “as soon as practicable”.

The secretary of state is currently on his sixth visit to the Middle East since Hamas killed some 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostage in a surprise attack on 7 October in southern Israel. Israel’s offensive in response has killed more than 31,000 people in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials, who told The Independent there have been at least 27 reported deaths due to starvation and dehydration, including 23 children.

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