U.S. says Algeria’s proposed resolution on Rafah is not balanced

The U.S. on Thursday said Algeria's draft UN Security Council resolution to "stop the killing" in the Gaza Strip's southern city of Rafah is not balanced.

"It is imbalanced and it fails to note a simple fact that Hamas is to blame for this conflict," State Department deputy spokesman Vedant Patel told reporters.

Patel said the UN cannot ignore Hamas' role in the conflict and its repeated violations of international law.

He said he is not going to negotiate the details of the draft resolution in public.

Algeria is circulating a draft UN Security Council resolution to "stop the killing" in Rafah as Israel intensifies attacks in the densely populated area.

"Algeria will circulate this afternoon a draft resolution on Rafah. It will be a short text, a decisive text, to stop the killing in Rafah," Algeria's Ambassador to the UN, Amar Bendjama, told reporters after a Security Council meeting on Tuesday.

The resolution seen by Anadolu demands that Israel "immediately halt its military offensive and any other action in Rafah."

It demands an immediate cease-fire respected by all parties and the "immediate and unconditional" release of all hostages while demanding the parties "comply with their obligations under international law in relation to all persons they detain."

The resolution also demands the "full implementation" of previous UN Security Council resolutions, such as one on Nov. 1, 2023, calling for "extended humanitarian pauses and corridors" in Gaza, a Dec. 22 resolution urging "safe, unhindered and expanded" humanitarian access to Gaza and a March 25, 2024 resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

All three resolutions also demanded the release of hostages held by the Palestinian group, Hamas.

The Algerian resolution also expresses "grave concern" about the catastrophic humanitarian situation with a famine spreading throughout Gaza and condemns the "indiscriminate targeting" of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The U.S. has vetoed three previous Security Council resolutions that demanded a cease-fire in Gaza since Oct. 7. Washington abstained from voting on a March 25 cease-fire resolution that is called "non-binding," which was adopted.