A United Nations Security Council vote on a bid to boost aid to the Gaza Strip was delayed again by one day to Friday, though the United States said it could now support the proposal after securing changes it sought to its wording, Reuters reported.
The resolution was originally scheduled for a Monday vote, but the vote has been postponed several times as members of the council have been grappling to find common ground on the wording.
That resolution had called for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip, but Israel, backed by the United States has opposed the use of the term "ceasefire."
After nearly two weeks of negotiations and already several days of delays on a vote, an agreement was struck late Thursday with the US that could allow a resolution drafted by United Arab Emirates to be adopted, according to Reuters.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters that it was "a resolution that we can support", but she declined to specify if that meant the US would vote in favor or abstain, which would allow the resolution to be adopted.
A resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no vetoes by the US, France, China, Britain or Russia, in order to be approved.
The vote was delayed until Friday after Russia and some other council members complained during closed-door talks about the amendments made to appease Washington, diplomats said.
A key sticking point for the US had been a proposal for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to establish a monitoring mechanism in Gaza "to exclusively monitor all humanitarian relief consignments to Gaza provided through land, sea and air routes" from countries not party to the war.
Instead, according to Reuters, the amended draft resolution asks Guterres to appoint a senior humanitarian and reconstruction coordinator to establish a UN mechanism for accelerating aid to Gaza through states that are not party to the conflict.
Instead of calling for a ceasefire, the draft resolution now has blunted language to have the Security Council call for "urgent steps to immediately allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and also for creating the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities."
Earlier this month, the Security Council attempted a vote on a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, but the US vetoed the proposal.
In mid-October, a Russian-drafted UN Security Council resolution, that would have called for a humanitarian ceasefire in the war in Gaza, failed to pass after it did not achieve the minimum nine votes needed in the 15-member body.
The text was controversial because, while it referred to Israel and the Palestinian Arabs, it did not directly name Hamas, whose terrorists murdered at least 1,200 people in Israel on October 7.
In late October, Russia and China vetoed a US-drafted UN Security Council resolution on the war between Israel and Hamas.
The UN General Assembly, whose resolutions are non-binding as opposed to Security Council resolutions which are, last week approved a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.