UN Security Council vote on Gaza postponed for 2nd time

Voting on a UN Security Council draft resolution that seeks the suspension of hostilities in Gaza in order to deliver aid was postponed on Tuesday for the second time in a row.

The US is not yet convinced on the draft resolution, which had been scheduled to be voted on late in the day, according to information obtained by Anadolu from UN sources.

The members of the Security Council will vote on the draft resolution on Wednesday.

The text, which was drafted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE), calls for the urgent suspension of hostilities to allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access and for urgent steps towards a sustainable cessation of hostilities.

Reaffirming that all parties to conflicts must adhere to their obligations under international law, it also requests that a UN monitoring mechanism be deployed expeditiously.

Earlier Tuesday, deputy US ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told reporters that the members were still working on the text with other players.

"The only thing I can say is that we're working on this issue right now, and we'll see what happens later today. But that's all I can tell you at this point," he added.

The US vetoed a Security Council resolution on Dec. 8 that demanded an immediate cease-fire to halt the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip as the death toll continued to mount.

Israel's air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas have killed more than 19,450 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to health authorities in the enclave.

The war has left Gaza in ruins, with half of the coastal territory's housing stock damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million people displaced within the densely-populated enclave amid shortages of food and clean water.

Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack, while more than 130 hostages remain in captivity.