The United Nations Security Council delayed a vote on a resolution to expand aid deliveries to Gaza, as the U.S. envoy to the organization said her country could support it.
The vote is now scheduled for later today. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN news account on the X platform that her country had worked over the past week with the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and others to reach a resolution on Gaza and Israel that “we can support.”
She added: “We have the resolution now and we are ready to vote on it. It will bring aid to those who need it.”
The UAE submitted the resolution, and the U.S. vetoed it on December 8. The UN said on its website that the wording was changed from “cessation of hostilities” to “suspension.”
NBC quoted Greenfield as saying that the resolution “supports Egypt’s priority of ensuring the placement of a mechanism on the ground to provide humanitarian assistance and we are ready to move forward.”
The U.S. ambassador did not reveal whether Washington would support the resolution or not, but she said that if it was put to a vote as it is, then it is possible that the U.S. would support it.
The session that was expected to see a vote on increasing humanitarian aid to the coastal enclave was postponed on Wednesday after disagreements over its wording.
The UAE-drafted resolution included expanding aid deliveries and establishing a UN-affiliated mechanism to monitor them.
According to press reports, Washington is concerned that it could include a reference to a ceasefire and a call on Israel and Hamas to facilitate the use of all sea, land, and air routes leading to the sector and in all its areas to deliver aid.
