UNSC for 1st time voted to demand immediate ceasefire in Gaza; US abstained

The UN Security Council for the first time voted to demand an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas since the start of Israel’s assault last year on the Gaza Strip as the United States abstained from the vote. 

The remaining 14 council members voted on Monday in favor of the resolution proposed by the 10 elected members of the council which called for an immediate ceasefire for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ends in two weeks, reported Al Jazeera.

The resolution also demands the release of all hostages seized in the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel on October 7.

"The bloodbath has continued for far too long," Amar Bendjama, the representative of Algeria, the Arab bloc's current member of the Security Council was quoted as saying by media reports. 

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres demanded that the resolution be implemented. "Failure would be unforgivable," Guterres wrote on X.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the US did not agree with everything with the resolution which is why it abstained from the vote.

The US National Security Council spokesperson, John Kirby, said the US abstained form the vote because it did not condemn Hamas in entirety, noting that a ceasefire in Gaza and demand for hostage release by Hamas has been a part of US policy.

In the wake of US’ abstention from vote, Israel has cancelled the visit of a high-level delegation to Washington, DC which has disappointed the US.

Earlier, US President Joe Biden had requested to meet Israeli officials to discuss Netanyahu’s plans for a ground invasion of Rafah in southern Gaza.

According to reports, more than 1 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering in Rafah.
PM Netanyahu’s office said the US failure to veto the resolution is a “clear retreat” from its previous position and would hurt war efforts against Hamas as well as efforts to release Israeli captives held in Gaza.

The resolution "gives Hamas hope that international pressure will allow them to accept a ceasefire without the release of our abductees," Netanyahu said.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, who is currently in Washington on a separate trip, said his country will not end the war until the hostages are freed.

"We have no moral right to stop the war while there are still hostages held in Gaza," he said outside the White House.

However, Hamas welcomed the resolution saying it would engage in talks on a prisoner exchange brokered by Qatar, after repeated delays in securing a deal, as reported by Hindustan Times.

Last year, on October 7 Palestinian fighter group Hamas led an attack on Israel which resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians.

Since then, Israel has retaliated with extreme measures to eliminate Hamas, killing more than 32,000 people, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.