The United Nations security council has passed a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group.
The new resolution was adopted on Monday after a draft proposed by the United States to end the war in Gaza was vetoed by China and Russia, permanent council members, on Friday.
Several ambassadors had voiced their support for a new draft proposed by the “E-10” group of non-permanent council members, which calls for an immediate ceasefire.
The new resolution said the ceasefire is necessary during the Muslim month of Ramadan, which began on March 11.
It also demanded the return of 130 Israeli hostages and emphasised the urgent need to allow unrestricted aid to reach a starving population in the besieged enclave.
There were 14 votes in favour with the US abstaining.
“The Security Council just approved a long-awaited resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” Antonio Guterres, secretary-general of the UN, tweeted.
“This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable.”
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the UN, blamed Hamas for the delay in passing a ceasefire resolution.
“We did not agree with everything with the resolution,” she said, referring to the reason why the US abstained.
“Certain key edits were ignored, including our request to add a condemnation of Hamas.”
The UN security council does not have the authority to force countries to implement its decisions, but the body is a strong indicator of how foreign countries feel towards certain developments.
ISRAEL REFUSES CEASEFIRE CALLS
Israel Katz, Israeli foreign minister, said his country would not abide by the resolution.
“The state of Israel will not cease fire,” Katz said on X after the resolution was passed.
“We will destroy Hamas and continue to fight until the last of the hostages returns home.”
Gilad Erdan, Israeli ambassador to the UN, faulted the security council for passing a resolution calling for a ceasefire without conditioning it on the release of the hostages.
“It undermines the efforts to secure their release,” he said.
The US abstention on the vote allowed the latest resolution to pass.
In reaction, Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel’s prime minister, cancelled a scheduled trip to the US, especially as the Western nation had previously vetoed similar resolutions calling for a ceasefire.
Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US department of state, said the move is “surprising and unfortunate”.