U.N. Security Council again delays vote on Gaza cease-fire

Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The United Nations Security Council has again delayed a vote on a much-anticipated resolution concerning the war between Israel and Hamas to allow more time for diplomats to come to an agreement on language calling for a stop in the fighting.

Ambassador Jose De La Casca of Ecuador, current president of the Security Council, told the press Wednesday afternoon that he will schedule a vote on the resolution for sometime Thursday, though he expects in the morning.

"The Security Council has agreed to continue negotiations today to allow for additional time for diplomacy," he said.

The vote on the United Arab Emirates' resolution was initially to be held Monday, but was pushed to Tuesday over objections to the wording by the United States, which had vetoed the last cease-fire resolution earlier this month over its lack of condemnation of Hamas' Oct. 7 surprise and bloody attack on Israel that kicked off the war.

The vote was then again delayed from Tuesday to Wednesday.

"We are aware and part of very high-level discussions that are happening between capitals to try and reach a text that will, in fact, be adopted," Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, the UAE ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters, following another day of closed-door consultations.

"The overriding objective of this resolution was always to try and positively impact on the ground for the people who need it the most," she continued. "We believe today, giving a little bit of space for additional diplomacy, could yield positive results and we are going to be optimists and try and do that."

Nusseibeh wouldn't say what exactly was holding up the vote, but that there are some ongoing discussions about fashioning a resolution that is implementable.

If by Thursday consensus has not been achieved, the council will "to proceed at pace to a vote on the resolution," she said.

National Security Council Coordinator for Strategic Communication John Kirby confirmed earlier Wednesday that active negotiations on the resolution were ongoing .

"I would just tell you, as we've been saying, it's important for us -- if the Security Council is going to speak on this -- that there's a condemnation of Hamas and what they did on the seventh of October, there's a recognition of the need for Israel to be able to defend itself and there's, of course, a significant commitment by all members on getting humanitarian assistance in to the people of Gaza," he said.

"Those things are important to us."

State Secretary Antony Blinken echoed this sentiment, stating discussions are ongoing and that they are seeking to secure something that can be implemented.

"We're engaged, as I said, in very good faith with other countries," he told reporters in Washington, D.C. "So, I hope we can get to a good place."

Stephan Dujarric, spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, spoke with reporters Wednesday, stating that they understand that the ongoing resolution negotiations have been "intense."

"The secretary-general's own position is unchanged: He's been calling for a humanitarian cease-fire and also he's been calling for the creation of the conditions on the ground to be conducive for broader delivery of humanitarian aid," he said.

The announcement comes as the death toll in Gaza reached nearly 20,000, according to the Hamas-run Palestine Ministry of Health.

Israel's air and ground offensives has displaced nearly 85% of the 2.2 million people who live in the Palestinian enclave.

Amid growing calls for a cease-fire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel vowed Wednesday that the fighting would continue until Hamas is "eliminated."

"Whoever thinks we will stop is not connected to reality," he said. "We will not stop fighting until all the goals we set are achieved: eliminating Hamas, releasing our hostages and removing the threat from Gaza."