White House works towards UN resolution on Gaza amid Israel’s aid monitoring concerns

The United States is still working in hopes of a UN Security Council resolution on Gaza, the White House said Thursday, after repeated delays over language opposed by Israel on aid monitoring.

“We’re still actively working with our UN partners about the resolution and on the language itself,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters.

The deputy US envoy at the UN, Robert Wood, earlier said that the United States was not yet at a point where it could support a draft text proposed by the United Arab Emirates.

A sticking point has been calls for UN monitoring of aid entering the beleaguered Gaza Strip, where 85 percent of the population has been displaced by a relentless Israeli military campaign launched after an October 7 attack by Hamas inside Israel.

Kirby, while declining to discuss the negotiations in depth, acknowledged that Israel wanted to keep control over monitoring of assistance.

“Israel has had, understandably so, a role in the inspection regime — a key role, a pivotal role — and we understand and respect that,” Kirby said.