NEW YORK: The United Nations Security Council has adopted a US-drafted resolution supporting a ceasefire plan in Gaza, as the US leads an intense diplomatic campaign to push Hamas to accept the proposal.
The text – 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, and urges ” both sides to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.”
UNSC: Biden Asks Hamas to Prove They Want Peace
However, US President Joe Biden has called on Hamas to accept the ceasefire agreement, after the adoption of a UNSC resolution on Monday calling for an immediate sop to fighting in Gaza. In a statement via social media, he said that Hamas says it wants a truce and this deal is an opportunity to prove they mean it.
Washington has claimed that Israel’s government suggested the ceasefire proposal currently on the table, but public statements from key members of PM Netanyahu’s coalition, including the PM himself, have called into question their commitment to the agreement.
Hamas welcomes the UNSC vote adopting a US-drafted resolution supporting a truce plan in Gaza.
The movement “welcomes the UNSC resolution … and would like to reiterate its readiness to cooperate with the brother mediators to enter into indirect talks about the implementation of these principles”, Hamas said in a statement, referring to its demands that include a permanent truce in Gaza and a complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory.
Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas has also “welcomed” the UNSC vote adopting a US-drafted resolution supporting a truce plan in the Gaza Strip. Abbas’s office said in a statement that the Palestinian president considers the approval of this resolution a step in the right direction to end the war of genocide against their people in Gaza Strip.
Israel’s UN representative stated after the vote that they “will not engage in meaningless and endless talks, which can be exploited by Hamas”.
After the development, Global charity Mercy Corp said the ceasefire resolution must be “executed fully and immediately” with no time to waste as half of Gaza’s population is “on the verge of starving to death”.
Gaza Health Ministry said 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.
