Algeria has presented a draft resolution to UN Security Council members calling for an end to Israel’s offensive in Rafah and an “immediate ceasefire,” according to a draft text seen by AFP.

Defying pressure from the United States and other western countries, Israel has been conducting military operations in Rafah, which is packed with people who have fled fighting elsewhere in Gaza.

The draft resolution, which draws on last week’s ruling by the International Court of Justice, “decides that Israel, the occupying Power, shall immediately halt its military offensive, and any other action in Rafah.”

It also “demands an immediate ceasefire respected by all parties, and also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”

During its October 7 cross-border attack on Israel, which triggered the war, Hamas militants took 252 hostages, 121 of whom remain in Gaza, including 37 the army says are dead.