The draft resolution, which was sent to the council’s five permanent members Thursday, reiterates the council’s demand “for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages” held in Gaza.

The council’s 10 elected members – Ecuador, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, Switzerland, Algeria, Guyana, South Korea, Sierra Leone and Slovenia – circulated the draft after they agreed to it.

The United States, Israel’s closest ally, holds the key to whether the Security Council adopts the resolution. The four other permanent members – Russia, China, Britain and France -- are expected to support it or abstain.

The draft, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, also demands immediate access for Gaza’s civilian population to humanitarian aid and services essential for their survival.

It “underscores” that the UN agency helping Palestinian refugees known as UNRWA “remains the backbone of the humanitarian response in Gaza.”

Israel’s parliament passed two laws last month banning UNRWA’s operations in the Palestinian territories, which take effect in 90 days.

The draft resolution would also express the council’s “deep alarm over the ongoing catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza including the lack of adequate healthcare services and the state of food insecurity creating a risk of famine notably in the north.”

Israel's deadly war on Gaza has killed at least 43,764 people in 13 months, most of them women and children, according to figures from the territory's health ministry.

The toll includes 28 deaths in the previous 24 hours, according to the ministry, which said 103,490 people have also been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began on October 2023.

*This story was edited by Ahram Online.