US ready to back Security Council resolution after changes to mechanism for Gaza aid, language on end to fighting

A resolution by the United Nations Security Council aimed at suspending fighting between Israel and Hamas and allowing more aid into Gaza has been revised. The United States has expressed its readiness to support the resolution, which is slated to be voted on Friday. The change in language was influenced by the United States’ insistence on calling for “urgent steps” to facilitate humanitarian access and create conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities. Discussions surrounding the resolution focused on issues such as a monitoring mechanism in the Gaza Strip and concerns about delays in aid delivery. The Biden administration has become more vocal about the severity of the conflict in Gaza, although the US has previously blocked ceasefire calls in the UN Security Council. While a recent vote in the wider UN General Assembly demanded an immediate ceasefire, such resolutions are nonbinding unlike those of the Security Council.