The resolution asks for "a viable plan to ensure the protection of and prevent the displacement of civilians in the event of a major ground military offensive into Rafah."
The document also calls on the "parties to refrain from depriving the civilian population in the Gaza Strip of basic services and humanitarian assistance indispensable to their survival."
Earlier on Monday, US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said that Washington did not find the Algeria-proposed resolution effective enough. Russian Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia, for his part, expressed his belief that if the United States had agreed to a resolution on a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip back in October 2023, many lives would have been saved.
The US has regularly impeded any resolution on Gaza that may hinder Israeli military operations. Washington, in particular, blocked a Brazil-drafted resolution in October 2023, and a resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates, which called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, in December.
On October 7, 2023, the Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale attack on Israel, killing 1,200 and abducting more than 200 others. The attack prompted a retaliatory military operation by Israel, leading to the deaths of more than 29,000 people in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities.
In November 2023, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The ceasefire expired on December 1, 2023, after several extensions. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.