As the Israeli military operation in Rafah continues unabated, the United States has proposed a draft resolution for voting at UN Security Council that calls for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza.
The US resolution “underscores its support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable, based on the formula of all hostages being released.”
The US draft warns against an Israeli ground offensive into Rafah, where the humanitarian situation is dire, according to UN agencies.
Nearly 1.5 million people are now crammed into the southern city on the border with Egypt and with nowhere further to flee.
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Washington had vowed to oppose an Algerian draft proposal calling for an immediate ceasefire in the war-torn Palestinian enclave, which will be taken for voting at the Council Tuesday.
Intense Israeli bombardment from air, land and sea continues across much of Gaza, resulting in further civilian casualties, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Widespread ground operations and heavy fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups also continue to be reported, especially in Khan Younis and Deir al Balah, OCHA said in a flash update on Monday.
Dozens of rockets were also reportedly fired by armed Palestinians toward Israel, it added.
Meanwile, the UN Senior Humanitarian Coordinator for Gaza warned that an extension of Israel’s military operation in Rafah will have “dire humanitarian consequences”.
Sigrid Kaag reiterated Secretary-General António Guterres’s concern that such an operation at present time would be potentially disastrous for innocent civilians.
“There are more than a million people crammed in Rafah. It’s not intended for a million people in shelters, in random sort of plastic sheeted constructions. Health conditions are very worrisome,” she told correspondents in Brussels after briefing European Union foreign ministers.
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