However, the United States, Israel's main ally, could block the draft.

The latest draft of the resolution demands "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" for the Israeli war on Gaza and "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."

The wording has angered Israel and raised fears of a US veto.

Israeli ambassador to the UN Danny Danon has called the text "shameful," adding: "We cannot allow the UN to tie the hands of the State of Israel from protecting its citizens, and we will not stop fighting until we return all the kidnapped men and women home."

"For us, it has to be a linkage between a ceasefire and the release of hostages," said Robert Wood, the deputy US ambassador. "It has been our principal position from the beginning and remains."

The health ministry in Gaza said the death toll from the resulting war had reached 43,972 people, the majority women and children. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.

Almost all of Gaza's 2.4 million people have been displaced by the war, which has caused a humanitarian catastrophe.

Gaza 'will haunt'
 

Since the beginning of the war, the Security Council has struggled to speak with one voice, as the United States used its veto power several times.

The few resolutions that the United States did allow to pass by abstaining stopped short of calling for an unconditional and permanent ceasefire.

In March, the council called for a temporary ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but this appeal was ignored by the warring parties.

In June, the council pledged support for a multi-stage US ceasefire and captive release plan that went nowhere.

Some diplomats have expressed hope that following Donald Trump's election win on November 5, President Joe Biden might be more flexible in the few weeks he has left in power.

They imagined a possible repeat of events in December 2016 when then-president Barack Obama was finishing his second term and the council passed a resolution calling for a halt to Israeli settlement building in the occupied territories, a first since 1979.

The United States refrained from using its veto in this case, a break from traditional US support for Israel on the sensitive issue of settlements.

The draft being voted on Wednesday also calls for "safe and unhindered entry of humanitarian assistance at scale," including in besieged northern Gaza, and denounces any attempt to starve the Palestinians.

The Palestinian delegation at the UN has suggested this text does not go far enough.

"Gaza's fate will haunt the world for generations to come," Ambassador Riyad Mansour warned.

He said the only course of action for the council is to call for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire under Chapter 7 of the UN charter.

That chapter allows the council to take steps to enforce its resolutions, such as sanctions, but the latest text does not refer to this option.