By Diyar Guldogan and Serife Cetin
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (AA) - The UN Security Council on Thursday postponed for the fourth time this week a vote on a draft resolution on humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
The 15-member Council is expected to meet Friday to vote on the resolution penned by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) which reportedly calls for "urgent steps" to allow the safe and unhindered delivery of aid to stricken civilians in Gaza.
Intense closed-door negotiations have been carried out all week by the Council to avoid a US veto.
After meeting on the situation in the Middle East, US representative to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told reporters that the Council is "ready" to vote on the draft resolution.
"I just want to share with you that we have worked hard and diligently over the course of the past week with the Emiratis, with others, with Egypt, to come up with a resolution that we can support. And we do have that resolution now," she said, without providing information about how she would vote.
Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas, killing nearly 20,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and injuring more than 52,000 others, according to health authorities in the enclave.
There has also been widespread destruction of homes and other infrastructure, besides a shortage of food, water and medicines.
Israel says 1,200 people were killed in the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas.