The United Nations Security Council on Monday issued its first demand to halt the fighting in Gaza, calling for a ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in a vote that drew an immediate protest from the Israeli prime minister.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a high-level delegation’s planned visit to Washington and accused the U.S. of “retreating” from a “principled position” by allowing the vote to pass without conditioning the ceasefire on the release of hostages held by Hamas.
The resolution passed 14-0 after the U.S. decided not to use its veto power and instead abstained on the resolution, which also demanded the release of all hostages taken captive during Hamas’s Oct. 7 surprise attack in southern Israel.
But the measure does not link that demand to the ceasefire during Ramadan, which ends April 9.
The Israeli delegation was to present White House officials with plans for an expected ground invasion of the strategic Gaza town of Rafah, where over one million Palestinian civilians have sought shelter from the war.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said the U.S. had been “consistent” in its support for a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal.
“The reason we abstained is because this resolution text did not condemn Hamas,” Kirby said.
The vote comes after Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution Friday that would have supported “an immediate and sustained ceasefire” in the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
The United States warned that the resolution approved Monday could hurt negotiations to halt hostilities by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, raising the possibility of another veto, this time by the Americans.
Because Ramadan ends next month, the ceasefire demand would last for just two weeks, though the draft says the pause in fighting should lead “to a permanent sustainable ceasefire.”
The Security Council just approved a long-awaited resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.<br><br>This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable.
—@antonioguterres
“The Security Council just approved a long-awaited resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” UN Secretary General António Guterres wrote on X after the vote.
“This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable.”
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