The resolution calls for the truce to lead to a “lasting, sustainable ceasefire” and demands that Hamas and other militants free hostages seized on October 7.
The United States had repeatedly blocked ceasefire resolutions as it attempts to walk a line between supporting Israel with military aid and voicing frustration with leader Benjamin Netanyahu as the civilian death toll in the Gaza Strip mounts.
Unlike Friday’s text, the call for a ceasefire in the new resolution is not directly linked to ongoing talks, led by Qatar with support from the United States and Egypt, to halt fighting in return for Hamas releasing hostages.
Unlike Friday’s text, the call for a ceasefire in the new resolution is not directly linked to ongoing talks, led by Qatar with support from the United States and Egypt, to halt fighting in return for Hamas releasing hostages.
- . . .After the vote, the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, cancelled a visit to Washington DC by an Israeli delegation set for early this week, according to Israel’s Channel 12 television. The delegation was due to discuss a planned Israeli offensive on the city of Rafah in Gaza, something the Biden administration opposed.
While the resolution demands a temporary ceasefire during the remainder of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, it adds that should lead to a “lasting sustainable ceasefire”.
- In a late amendment demanded by the US, the word “lasting” was substituted for “permanent”, to Russian objections.
- A Russian effort to restore the word “permanent” was defeated by 11 votes to three.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US envoy to the UN, said: “Certain key edits were ignored, including our requests to add a condemnation of Hamas, and we did not agree with everything in the resolution. For that reason we were unfortunately not able to vote yes. However, as I’ve said before, we fully support some of the critical objectives in this non-binding resolution.”
Although it is non-binding, the security council resolution does directly demand a ceasefire, rather than determining it to be an “imperative”, the wording of a defeated US text last week, making it an unequivocal expression of the will of the international community.
Thomas-Greenfield insisted that the wording of the resolution “means a ceasefire of any duration must come with the release of hostages”. The wording of the resolution, intensely debated over the weekend, asks for both a ceasefire and a hostage release in parallel, but does not make one conditional on the other. The security council resolution calls, as previous versions have done, for the expansion of the flow of humanitarian assistance into Gaza and for civilians to be protected.
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