Algeria proposes Security Council resolution demanding Israel halt offensive in Rafah

Algeria is circulating a proposed U.N. Security Council resolution that would demand an immediate cease-fire in Gaza and order Israel to halt its military offensive in the southern city of Rafah immediately.

The draft resolution, obtained Wednesday evening by The Associated Press, also demands that the cease-fire be respected by all parties. It also calls for the immediate release of all hostages taken during Hamas' attack in southern Israel on Oct. 7.

Some diplomats said they hoped for a quick vote, even as early as Wednesday.

"It is our hope that it can be done as quickly as possible because life is in the balance," Chinese Ambassador Fu Cong told reporters.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said: "We're waiting to see it and then we'll react to it."

The United States has vetoed multiple resolutions demanding a cease-fire in Gaza.

The draft demands compliance with previous Security Council resolutions that call for the opening of all border crossings and humanitarian access to Gaza's 2.3 million people who desperately need food and other aid.

The proposed resolution says that "the catastrophic situation in the Gaza Strip constitutes a threat to regional and international peace and security." It expresses grave concern at "famine spreading throughout the Gaza Strip" and the suffering of Palestinians who took refuge in Rafah.

The resolution would demand that Israel "immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in Rafah."

The draft condemns what it calls "the indiscriminate targeting of civilians, including women and children, and civilian infrastructure" and reiterates the council's demand for all parties to comply with international law requiring the protection of civilians.

Algeria's U.N. ambassador, Amar Bendjama, who is also the Arab representative on the Security Council, told reporters after emergency closed council consultations Tuesday that he would be sending the draft resolution to the 15-member council later in the evening.

Algeria called the emergency council meeting as Israel pushed ahead with its military operation in Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge. It followed Sunday night's Israeli airstrikes that triggered a fire engulfing tents in a camp for displaced Palestinians west of Rafah, killing 45 people and injured over 100 others.