The UN Security Council scheduled a vote Wednesday on a resolution which demands "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties."
UN diplomats said the United States is likely to veto it.
Calling the humanitarian situation in Gaza "catastrophic," the proposed resolution also demands "the immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza and its safe and unhindered distribution at scale, including by the UN and humanitarian partners."
The vote, scheduled for late Wednesday afternoon, comes amid near-daily Israeli killing of Palestinian aid seekers at a controversial US-backed aid centre.
The United Nations has rejected the new system, saying it doesn't address Gaza's mounting hunger crisis, allows Israel to use aid as a weapon, and doesn't comply with the humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence.
The draft resolution demands the restoration of all essential humanitarian services in line with those principles, international humanitarian law and UN Security Council resolutions.
US veto?
Several UN diplomats from different countries, speaking on condition of anonymity on Tuesday because discussions have been private, said they expect the United States to veto the resolution.
Diplomats also said that the representatives from the 10 elected members of the Council, who will introduce the text, tried in vain to negotiate with the American side.
The US Mission to the United Nations said it had no comment on the draft resolution at this time.
A resolution needs nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, Britain or France - to pass.
Since October 7, 2023, the Security Council has voted on 14 Gaza-related resolutions and approved four.
The last resolution was also proposed by the 10 elected council members and also demanded "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire to be respected by all parties."
Fourteen of the 15 council members voted in favour on November 20, but the US vetoed the resolution.
Israeli carnage
Israel has been carrying out a genocide in Gaza since October 2023. Palestinians have recorded killings of more than 54,470 Palestinians, most of them women and children.
Some 11,000 Palestinians are feared buried under rubble of annihilated homes, according to Palestine's official WAFA news agency.
Experts, however, contend that the actual death toll significantly exceeds what the Gaza authorities have reported, estimating it could be around 200,000.
Over the course of the genocide, Israel reduced most of the blockaded enclave to ruins and practically displaced all of its population.
