Baku, June 5, AZERTAC
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres discussed a proposed cease-fire deal for Gaza on Tuesday, Anadolu agency reported.
During their meeting in Washington, D.C., the State Department said Blinken thanked Guterres for his public support of the proposed deal to reach a comprehensive cease-fire in Gaza, secure the release of all hostages and end the crisis in the besieged enclave.
"The Secretary emphasized the importance of the (UN) Security Council speaking out to call for implementation of this deal without delay," the department said in a statement.
They underscored the imperative of getting humanitarian assistance to people in Gaza and supporting UN efforts to deliver life-saving aid, it added.
US cooperation with the UN on support for Ukraine’s efforts “towards a comprehensive, just and lasting peace” and the conflict in Sudan were also on the agenda, it said.
The US urged the Security Council on Monday to support the three-phase plan announced by President Joe Biden aimed at ending the war in Gaza, freeing all hostages and sending aid into the Strip.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the US circulated a draft resolution to the Council members to back the proposal for ending the conflict.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
More than 36,500 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority being women and children, and nearly 83,000 others injured, according to local health authorities.
Nearly eight months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in its latest ruling has ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.