US Ambassador Asks UN Security Council To Press Hamas To Accept Ceasefire Deal In Gaza

US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield. (Wikimedia Commons/US Department of State)

United States Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council on Thursday the ceasefire agreement for the Gaza Strip conflict and the release of hostages was in sight, urging council members to pressure Hamas to accept Israeli-approved liaison proposals.

Both Israel and Hamas survive on their respective demands, although indirect talks with US, Qatar and Egyptian mediators have been going on for months.

Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said the liaison proposal submitted last week by the US, Qatar and Egypt was consistent with a plan outlined by President Joe Biden in May and supported by the Security Council in June.

"Israel has accepted a liaison proposal. Now Hamas must do the same," he told the UN DK meeting on Thursday discussing the situation in the Middle East.

"As members of this council, we must speak in one voice, and we must use our influence to pressure Hamas to accept the liaison proposal," he said.

Disagreements regarding Israel's future military presence in Gaza and the release of Palestinian prisoners hindered the agreement, a source familiar with the talks told Reuters, stemming from demands filed by Israel since Hamas received President Biden's proposal in May.

"This is a decisive moment for ceasefire talks and for the region, so every member of this council must continue to send strong messages to other actors in the region to avoid actions that will keep us away from the settlement of this deal," Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield said.

The conflict in Gaza has made the entire Middle East region nervous, sparking months of border clashes between Israel and Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah movement, and threatening a broader escalation involving major countries.

"There is a very real danger of regional escalation," said the US Ambassador.

"So let's do everything in our power to complete the ceasefire and the deal to release these hostages right now," he said.

The latest conflict in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023, when militant groups led by Hamas, stormed southern Israel, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

Since then, the Israeli military has flatten most of the Palestinian enclave, expelling nearly the entirety of its 2.3 million residents from their homes, causing deadly hunger and disease and killing at least 40,000 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Separately, medical sources in Gaza said on Thursday that Israeli forces' attacks in the past 24 hours left at least 42 Palestinians dead and 163 others injured, quoted from WAFA.

This condition brings the death toll of Palestinians since the latest conflict in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023, has risen to 40,265, while 93,144 others have been injured, the majority of victims are women and children.