US unveils draft UN resolution seeking immediate Gaza ceasefire

US call is tied to release of hostages, says Blinken as he seeks support of Arab leaders

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CAIRO - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in Cairo on March 21 as part of talks with Arab officials to seek a ceasefire in Gaza, after Israel's prime minister told US Republicans there would be no let-up in the war against Hamas.

In Gaza itself, Israel's offensive focused on Al-Shifa Hospital, the only partially working medical facility in the north of the Strip, for a fourth day, and local residents said they had seen buildings inside the complex in flames.

Five months of war have created critical food shortages among Gaza's 2.3 million Palestinians that in some areas now exceed famine levels, according to the United Nations.

"We're pressing for an immediate ceasefire tied to the release of hostages," Mr Blinken told the Arabic broadcaster AI Hadath. "That would bring immediate relief to so many people who are suffering in Gaza the children, the women, the men."

He said the United States has drafted a resolution at the United Nations to that effect.

Ceasefire talks resumed this week in Qatar, centred on a truce of around six weeks that would allow the release of 40 Israeli hostages in return for hundreds of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails.

However, the main sticking point remains that Hamas says it will release hostages only as part of an agreement that would end the war, while Israel says it will discuss only a temporary pause.

"I think the gaps are narrowing, and I think an agreement is very much possible," Mr Blinken told AI Hadath. "The Israeli team is present, has authority to reach an agreement."