Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 22, 2024, Winnipeg, Manitoba Space provided through a partnership between industry and Manitoba communities to support waste diversion programs. Reduce your food waste. Save money. Combat climate change. March 18 to 24 is Food Waste Action Week! winnipeg.ca/foodwaste WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM ● A5 NEWS I WORLD FRIDAY, MARCH 22, 2024 ‘Imperative’ to protect civilians and enable humanitarian aid U.S. calls for UN vote on Gaza ceasefire U NITED NATIONS — The United States called for a vote today on a newly revised and tougher UN resolution declaring that “an immedi- ate and sustained ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza is “impera- tive” to protect civilians and enable hu- manitarian aid to be delivered to more than 2 million hungry Palestinians. In the previous draft, the Security Council did not make such a declara- tion. Instead, it would have supported international efforts for a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal. The new draft obtained Thursday by The Associated Press “determines” — which is a council order — “the im- perative of an immediate and sustained ceasefire,” with no direct link to the re- lease of hostages taken during Hamas’ surprise attack in Israel on Oct. 7. But “toward that end” it would unequivocal- ly support diplomatic efforts “to secure such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.” After the 15 Security Council mem- bers met behind closed doors Thursday afternoon to discuss Gaza, U.S. Ambas- sador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said when asked if the U.S. draft would be adopted: “I am optimistic. That’s why it took us so long, because we worked so hard.” Russia’s deputy UN ambassador, Dmitry Polyansky, told reporters that U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is pressing for an immediate ceasefire and if the resolution calls for an im- mediate ceasefire “we will, of course, support it.” But he questioned the wording of the U.S. draft, asking: “What’s an impera- tive? I have an imperative to give you $100, but … it’s only an imperative, not $100.” “So, somebody’s fooling around, I think, (with the) international commun- ity,” Polyansky said. “We are not satis- fied with anything that doesn’t call for immediate ceasefire. I think everybody is not satisfied with this. Even Secre- tary Blinken is not satisfied.” Blinken is on his sixth urgent mis- sion to the Middle East since the Is- rael-Hamas war began, discussing a deal for a ceasefire and hostage release as well as post-war scenarios. Nate Evans, the spokesman for the U.S. Mission to the United Nations, issued a statement while the Security Council was holding closed Gaza con- sultations announcing that the U.S. would bring the resolution to a vote this morning. “This resolution is an opportunity for the Council to speak with one voice to support the diplomacy happening on the ground and pressure Hamas to ac- cept the deal on the table,” Evans said. Meanwhile, the 10 elected members of the Security Council have been draft- ing their own resolution that would demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which began March 10, to be “respected by all parties leading to a permanent sustainable ceasefire.” It also would demand “the immediate and unconditional release of all hos- tages” and emphasize the urgent need to protect civilians and deliver humani- tarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip. That draft had not yet been put in “blue,” which is the final form required for a vote. France’s UN ambassador, Nicolas de Riviere, told reporters that “there is a desire to take action, no one want to procrastinate, so we hope that a de- cision can be made by tomorrow even- ing.” “We need a ceasefire right now,” he said. “There are two options: Either the U.S. text is adopted and then we’ll move to the next phase of this crisis manage- ment, or the text is not adopted and then the draft of the elected members will come to the table and put to the vote, and I hope it will be adopted.” The Health Ministry in Gaza raised the death toll in the territory Thursday to nearly 32,000 Palestinians. It doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead. Palestinian militants killed some 1,200 people in the surprise Oct. 7 at- tack into southern Israel that triggered the war, and abducted 250 people. Hamas is still believed to be holding some 100 people hostage as well as the remains of 30 others. The international community’s au- thority on determining the severity of hunger crises warned this week that “famine is imminent” in northern Gaza, where 70 per cent of people are experiencing catastrophic hunger. The report from the Integrated Food Sec- urity Phase Classification initiative, or IPC, warned that escalation of the war could push half of Gaza’s total popula- tion to the brink of starvation. The U.S. draft would express “deep concern about the threat of conflict-in- duced famine and epidemics presently facing the civilian population in Gaza as well as the number of undernourished people, and also that hunger in Gaza has reached catastrophic levels.” It would emphasize “the urgent need to expand the flow of humanitarian as- sistance to civilians in the entire Gaza Strip” and lift all barriers to getting aid to civilians “at scale.” Israel faces mounting pressure from even its closest allies to streamline the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip and open more land crossings and for a cease- fire. But Prime Minister Benjamin Net- anyahu has vowed to move the military offensive to the southern city of Rafah, which he says is a Hamas stronghold. Some 1.3 million displaced Palestinians have sought safety in Rafah. The final U.S. draft eliminated lan- guage in the initial draft that said Is- rael’s offensive in Rafah “should not proceed under current circumstances.” Instead, in an introductory paragraph, the council would emphasize its con- cern that a ground offensive into Rafah “would result in further harm to civil- ians and their further displacement, potentially into neighbouring countries, and would have serious implications for regional peace and security.” For the first time in a UN resolution, the U.S. draft would condemn “all acts of terrorism, including the Hamas-led attacks of Oct. 7, 2023, as well as its tak- ing and killing of hostages, murder of civilians, and sexual violence, includ- ing rape.” — The Associated Press EDITH M. LEDERER EVELYN HOCKSTEIN / POOL PHOTO U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken No formal request by Niger junta for U.S. military to leave: Pentagon official WASHINGTON — A top Pentagon of- ficial told Congress on Thursday that the U.S. has not received a formal re- quest from Niger’s junta to depart the country, saying it has received mixed signals on whether the hundreds of U.S. troops there are no longer welcome. Celeste Wallander, assistant secre- tary of defence for international sec- urity affairs, told the House Armed Services Committee that so far Niger’s ruling military council, known as the CNSP, has not formally asked the U.S. military to leave. Wallander said the CNSP has said the status of forces agreement, which sets the terms of a U.S. military presence in a country, is now null and void. How- ever, she said the junta has “assured us that American military forces are pro- tected and they will take no action that will endanger them.” The U.S. military has about 650 troops and another several hundred support personnel still in Niger, which in the past has been a critical hub for counterterrorism operations. But last July mutinous soldiers ousted the coun- try’s democratically elected president and months later asked French forces to leave. Wallander said the U.S. is continuing to look at ways to conduct operations against violent extremist organizations in the region. In Niger, U.S. personnel have largely consolidated to one base and continue to run drone operations, but those are limited to force protection, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said. “There are ongoing conversations with the CNSP to discuss the path for- ward,” Singh said. The quick turn of relations had some U.S. lawmakers questioning how Niger could go from a strategic ally to being run by a junta in such a short time. — The Associated Press TARA COPP ;