The United Nations General Assembly will vote on a resolution urging an immediate and unconditional cease-fire in Gaza, while the Israeli defense minister told his U.S. counterpart that there was a chance for a hostage deal.
Late last month, Washington used its veto power on the Council – as it has before – to protect its ally Israel, to the outrage of the global community, amid the ongoing humanitarian catastrophe caused by Tel Aviv's genocidal war on the blockaded Palestinian enclave.
It blocked the Council's attempt to call for a cease-fire, saying a link between a cease-fire and a release of all hostages had to be maintained.
This time in the Assembly, the draft resolution, which would be non-binding if approved, calls for both "an immediate, unconditional and permanent cease-fire," and "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."
The resolution also demands "immediate access" to widespread humanitarian aid for the citizens of Gaza, especially in the besieged north of the territory.
The General Assembly has regularly offered its support to the Palestinians and often finds itself taking up measures that cannot get through the Security Council, which has been largely paralyzed on hot-button issues such as Gaza and Ukraine.
During the debate before the vote, which is due to take place at about 3:00 p.m. (2000 GMT), those who spoke largely backed the draft.
"Gaza doesn't exist anymore. It is destroyed," Slovenia's U.N. envoy Samuel Zbogar told the Assembly. "History is the harshest critic of inaction."
That criticism was echoed by Algeria's deputy U.N. ambassador Nacim Gaouaoui, who said: "The price of silence and failure in the face of the Palestinian tragedy is a very heavy price, and it will be heavier tomorrow."
'Bleeding heart of Palestine'
Israel's attacks on Gaza killed at least 44,805 people, a majority of them civilians.
"Gaza today is the bleeding heart of Palestine," Palestinian U.N. ambassador Riyad Mansour said last week during the first day of debate in the Assembly's special session on the issue.
"The images of our children burning in tents, with no food in their bellies and no hopes and no horizon for the future, and after having endured pain and loss for more than a year, should haunt the conscience of the world and prompt action to end this nightmare," he said, calling for an end to the "impunity.'
Israel meanwhile denounced the draft resolution, which calls on U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to present "proposals on how the United Nations could help to advance accountability."
An earlier draft seen by AFP aimed to establish an international mechanism to help investigate and prosecute those responsible for crimes committed in the Palestinian territories since 2014, but that language was subsequently removed.
A second draft resolution up for a vote on Wednesday will call on Israel to respect the mandate of the U.N. agency supporting Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and allow it to continue its operations after Israel voted to ban it.
The ban, which is due to take effect on Jan. 28, sparked global condemnation, including from key ally the United States.
New chance for deal: Israeli defense minister
There is a chance now for a deal to release all the hostages held in Gaza, including U.S. citizens, Israel's Defense Minister Israel Katz told his U.S. counterpart Lloyd Austin in a phone call on Wednesday, Katz's office said in a statement.
"Minister Katz updated Secretary of Defense Austin on the negotiations for the release of the hostages, and said that there is now a chance for a new deal that will allow the return of all the hostages, including those with American citizenship," Katz's office said in a statement.