The Guardian reported on March 25 that the UN Security Council has just voted to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, after 14 members voted in favor and the US abstained. The resolution was drafted by the council's 10 elected members and proposed by Mozambique's representative. Russia wanted to retain the draft resolution that included the word "permanent", but was unsuccessful.

On the same day, March 25, Al Jazeera quoted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as saying that he witnessed a growing consensus in the international community to call for an Israeli ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. "There is also a growing consensus to make it clear to Israel that any ground attack on Rafah would mean a catastrophic humanitarian disaster," he said at a press conference in Amman (Jordan) during his Middle East tour to seek a solution to the crisis in Gaza.

Signal from Tel Aviv

Thanks to the efforts of intermediaries, the sides have intensified talks on a possible six-week ceasefire in Gaza, in exchange for the release of 40 of the 130 hostages held by Hamas. According to Reuters, Israel has shown an openness to allowing some Palestinians to return to northern Gaza. Channel 12, citing sources, said Israel has proposed allowing 2,000 people to return to northern Gaza, starting two weeks after a deal takes effect and the ceasefire begins.

Hamas has wanted any deal to include a ceasefire and an Israeli withdrawal. Israel has rejected that and said it would resume efforts to eliminate Hamas's control and military capabilities in Gaza. Hamas also wants Palestinians who have fled northern Gaza to be able to return. Israel initially refused, but an Israeli official said that position softened at talks in Qatar that ended on March 24. "We are now ready to discuss the return of some of the evacuees," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Israeli media reported that the proposal might only include women and children, to prevent Hamas militants from infiltrating. The official said Israel had also agreed in principle to the release of about 700 to 800 Palestinian prisoners in exchange for 40 hostages.

In another development, the UN Security Council (headquartered in New York City, New York State, USA) on March 25 (local time) voted on a new draft resolution with the content of an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Another previous draft was not passed because Russia and China vetoed it for not clearly requesting Israel to stop the campaign.

Fear of famine

Meanwhile, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said Israel had indefinitely blocked the agency's delivery of aid in northern Gaza, where an estimated 250,000 people remain and where the risk of famine is at its highest. "Despite the tragedy unfolding under our watch, the Israeli authorities have just informed the UN that they will no longer accept any more UNRWA food convoys to the north," Lazzarini said, according to AFP. He criticized it as "outrageous and a deliberate attempt to obstruct aid" in a man-made famine. Israel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

UNRWA communications director Juliette Touma said the agency had been unable to deliver food to northern Gaza since January 29. Israel has accused some UNRWA staff of participating in an attack on Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, and has called the agency a front for Hamas, although UNRWA has denied this. Touma said Israel's latest decision was "a nail in the coffin" for efforts to deliver much-needed aid to Gazans. Earlier, Mr. Guterres called for an end to the "unending nightmare" of Gaza's 2.4 million people in the worst war in the strip.