People sit by a fire outside one of the tents housing Palestinians displaced by the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Dec. 18, 2023. (Credit: Mahmud Hams/AFP)
Delay in hopes of breaking deadlock
The UN Security Council was meant to vote today on a resolution put forward by the United Arab Emirates that calls for an "urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities" in Gaza.
The draft, seen by AFP, also “stresses the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.” It doesn’t mention Hamas but speaks generally of releasing hostages and condemning terrorism.
Palestinians prepare traditional unleavened bread in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 18, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and Hamas. (Credit: Mohammed Abed/AFP)
This evening, it was announced that the vote will take place tomorrow (Tuesday) instead, with diplomatic sources saying this is to allow the US to negotiate a wording that it can support. In the past, the US voted against UN resolutions on the grounds that the drafts didn’t explicitly condemn Hamas and because the country’s foreign policy opposes a cease-fire in Gaza that they, and Israel, say would only allow Hamas to regroup and re-weaponize.
In reference to the resolution currently up for debate, the US said they could support a "suspension" but not a "cessation" of hostilities. It seems as though the 15-member Security Council, in their second attempt this month to pass a resolution on the Gaza war, is especially determined to break the deadlock.
US diplomats in Israel
US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin is the latest in a slew of US diplomats to visit Israel in recent weeks, in what appears to be an attempt to soften what US President Joe Biden referred to last week as “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza. The US is becoming further isolated in its support for Israel, as demonstrated by the recent UN General Assembly vote in which the US, Israel and Austria were the only major countries to vote against a cease-fire resolution.
Family members prepare traditional unleavened bread in their destroyed house in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Dec. 18, 2023, amid continuing battles between Israel and Hamas (Credit: Mohammed Abed/AFP)
Although Austin made it clear that his visit was not intended for meddling in Israeli military affairs, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant announced, following his meetings with Austin, that the army would gradually “transition to the next phase” of its offensive on Gaza, during which Palestinians would be allowed to return to the north of the Strip. Austin affirmed that the US is "Israel's greatest friend."
Whispers of renewing negotiations
There are hints of renewed mediation between Israel and Hamas. US news outlet Axios reported today that Mossad Chief David Barnea, CIA Director Bill Burns and Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani met in Warsaw to discuss the potential for further negotiations. During a press conference in Beirut, Hamas official Osama Hamdan also expressed the group’s interest in reviewing any proposals put forward by Egypt and Qatar regarding hostage-swaps.
A man and a boy sit by a cooking pot outside one of the tents housing Palestinians displaced by the conflict in Gaza between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on Dec. 18, 2023. (Photo by Mahmud Hams/AFP)
Red Sea no-go zone for ships
In the Red Sea, Yemen’s Houthi rebels announced two more attacks on ships operating in this economically-vital body of water. The group’s attacks, which they say are done in support for the people of Gaza, have accelerated in frequency. Today marked the ninth, 10th and 11th announcements by international companies suspending their activity in the important marine transportation passage. British energy giant BP, and two Taiwanese companies Evergreen and Yang Ming Marine Transport Corporation, joined the list of companies rerouting or halting the passage of their ships in response to the Houthi attacks.
The attacks have also prompted the London marine insurance market to widen the parameters of “high risk” areas in the Red Sea. As a result, war risk premiums have risen, covering less of the value of each ship and resulting in the cost for a seven-day trip through the Red Sea to increase by tens of thousands of dollars.
The sun sets in Egypt across the border from Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, near tents housing Palestinians displaced by the conflict in Gaza, on Dec. 18, 2023. (Credit: Mahmud Hams/AFP)