NEW YORK: The United Nations Security Council has adopted a US-drafted resolution supporting a ceasefire plan in Gaza, as the US leads a diplomatic effort to push Israel and Hamas to accept the proposal.
The resolution, approved with 14 votes in favor and Russia abstaining, “welcomes” the ceasefire and captive release proposal announced on May 31 by US President Joe Biden. It urges both sides to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.
President Biden has called on Hamas to accept the ceasefire agreement following the adoption of the UNSC resolution on Monday, which calls for an immediate stop to the fighting in Gaza. In a statement on social media, Biden said that if Hamas wants a truce, this deal is an opportunity to prove it.
Washington has claimed that Israel’s government suggested the ceasefire proposal currently on the table, but public statements from key members of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s coalition, including the Prime Minister himself, have cast doubt on their commitment to the agreement.
Hamas has welcomed the UNSC vote adopting the US-drafted resolution supporting the truce plan in Gaza. The movement stated, “The UNSC resolution is welcomed… and we reiterate our readiness to cooperate with the brother mediators to enter into indirect talks about the implementation of these principles,” referring to their demands for a permanent truce in Gaza and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory.
Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas also “welcomed” the UNSC vote adopting the US-drafted resolution supporting the truce plan in Gaza. Abbas’s office released a statement saying that the Palestinian president considers the approval of this resolution a step in the right direction to end the genocide against their people in Gaza.
Israel’s UN representative stated after the vote that they “will not engage in meaningless and endless talks, which can be exploited by Hamas.”
Following the resolution, global charity Mercy Corps stated that the ceasefire resolution must be “executed fully and immediately” as half of Gaza’s population is “on the verge of starving to death.”
The Gaza Health Ministry reported that more than 37,124 people have been killed and 84,712 injured, mostly women and children, in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7. The death toll in Israel from Hamas’s surprise attacks stands at 1,139, with dozens of people still held captive in the Gaza Strip.
