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The U.S. has submitted a draft resolution to the United Nations calling for an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” in Gaza that is tied to the release of Israeli hostages, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Thursday.
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“We actually have a resolution that we put forward right now 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. I think that would send a strong message, a strong signal,” Blinken said in an interview to Saudi media.
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U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken with his Saudi counterpart Prince Ibrahim Al-Suwaid
According to a report on NBC the working of the proposed resolution is stronger than had been seen from the administration that has thus far vetoed any earlier resolutions calling for the fighting in Gaza to cease. “The imperative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire to protect civilians on all sides,” NBC quoted from the draft resolution.
Russia is reportedly going to veto the US resolution leaving Israeli officials to believe the Biden administration, which has increasingly come under attack for its support of Israel, was merely making a tactical move.