Video: The moment the UN passes the Gaza ceasefire resolution
The United Nations Security Council called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza after the United States changed its previous position and did not veto the measure.
They also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
It is the first time the council has called for a ceasefire since the war began in October, after several failed attempts.
The US move signals a growing divide between the US and its ally Israel over Israeli attacks in Gaza.
In an unusually strong condemnation, a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the United States had “abandoned” its previous position linking a ceasefire directly to the release of hostages.
“Unfortunately, the United States did not veto the new resolution,” he said.
The statement said this gave Hamas hope that it could use international pressure on Israel to achieve a ceasefire without releasing the prisoners, damaging hostage release efforts.
It also said Prime Minister Netanyahu had decided to cancel a meeting between an Israeli delegation and U.S. officials scheduled for this week in Washington.
Israel's defense minister said Israel would not stop its war in Gaza while the hostages were being held.
Palestine's representative to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, welcomed the resolution but said it was overdue.
Mansour said: “It took six months for the council to finally call for an immediate ceasefire, with more than 100,000 Palestinians killed and seriously injured, and two million displaced and starving. '' Mansour said.
The resolution was also welcomed by the Palestinian Islamic group Hamas, which rules Gaza and sparked the war with an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7. The government said it was ready to “work on an immediate prisoner exchange process leading to the release of prisoners on both sides.”
The organization has made the release of hostages conditional on Israel releasing Palestinians held in Israeli prisons.
In Monday's Security Council vote, the United States abstained, but the remaining 14 countries voted in favor.
The United States had previously blocked a resolution calling for a ceasefire, saying such a move was wrong amid delicate negotiations between Israel and Hamas to end the conflict and release the hostages.
But on Thursday it hardened its stance on Israel, presenting its own draft proposal for a ceasefire for the first time.
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the U.S. decision to allow the resolution to pass does not represent a “change in policy.” He said the United States supported the ceasefire but did not vote in favor of the resolution because the document did not condemn Hamas.
“We have been consistently clear that we support a ceasefire as part of the hostage trade,” Kirby said at a press conference following the resolution's passage. acknowledges ongoing discussions.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the resolution “must be implemented” to ensure a ceasefire and “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”
The US is pressuring Israel to do more to deliver aid, saying the entire population in the Gaza Strip is suffering from food insecurity.
Mark Lyall Grant, Britain's ambassador to the United Nations from 2009 to 2015, told BBC Radio's 4pm program that the resolution meant Israel was “essentially obliged to cease military action for the next 15 days”. He said that it means to bear the burden. the rest of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan. stipulated in the ceasefire document.
He added that the document is legally binding on Israel, but not on Hamas because the Palestinian group is not a state.
The United States had previously been accused of using its veto power to protect Israel at the United Nations.
However, according to the Hamas-run Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip, Israel's shelling has left more than 32,000 people dead, mainly women and children, in the Gaza Strip, and the number of deaths is increasing. There is increasing criticism of
The United States is also pressuring Israel to do more to deliver aid, saying the entire population in the Gaza Strip suffers from severe levels of food insecurity.
The United Nations accused Israel of blocking aid. Israel has accused the United Nations of failing to distribute them.
The current war erupted after Hamas militants breached the border and attacked Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages to Gaza, according to an Israeli tally.
Of those taken, 130 are still missing after a series of releases, rescues, and bodies recovered.
Despite Israel's decision to cancel a delegation's planned visit to Washington this week in response to a Security Council resolution, Mr. He said his meeting with his deputy, Jake Sullivan, will continue as scheduled.
“I look forward to making clear to the defense secretary that the United States will continue to work with Israel in its fight against Hamas,” he said at a news conference Monday.
