UN Security Council to vote Friday on US resolution on Gaza ceasefire: US

The United States, which has repeatedly blocked calls for a truce in Gaza, will submit a draft resolution urging "an immediate ceasefire" linked to the release of the hostages held by Hamas, the US representative said Thursday.

The US resolution, which will be put to vote on Friday, "will unequivocally support ongoing diplomatic efforts aimed at securing an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal," Nate Evans, spokesman for US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said in a statement.

The measure "is an opportunity for the Council to speak with one voice to support the diplomacy happening on the ground and pressure Hamas to accept the deal on the table," Evans added.

The United States, Israel's main backer, has previously used its UN Security Council veto to block the world body from calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.

Since blocking an Algerian draft resolution calling for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza at the end of February, US officials have been negotiating an alternative text focusing on support for diplomatic efforts on the ground for a six-week truce in exchange for the release of hostages.

According to diplomatic sources, this text had little chance of gaining the Council's approval and a new version was circulated to Security Council members on Wednesday.

An alternative draft resolution is also under discussion and could also be put to a vote on Friday, according to a diplomatic source.

Supported by several of the nonpermanent members of the Council, it "demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire for the month of Ramadan," according to the text seen by AFP.

Ramadan began on March 10 and ends on April 9.