The United Nations Security Council voted in favor of a ceasefire resolution led by President Joe Biden.
Biden’s proposed plan includes a “full and complete ceasefire,” the release of hostages, and a “major reconstruction” of Gaza. Israel is also to withdraw from the Gaza Strip should the ceasefire become permanent.
Fourteen out of fifteen members of the Security Council voted with the U.S. in favor of the resolution. Russia abstained from voting.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas Greenfield said following the vote that the council “sent a clear message to Hamas: accept the cease-fire deal on the table.”
“Hamas can now see that the international community is united,” Greenfield added.
Political coordinator for the Israeli delegation to the U.N., Reut Shapir Ben-Naftaly, sat in on the vote. While some have claimed Israel has agreed to the resolution’s terms, Ben-Naftaly said, “Israel will not engage in meaningless and endless negotiations which can be exploited by Hamas as a means to stall for time.”
She noted that Israel is “committed to these goals to free all the hostages, to destroy Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, and to ensure that Gaza does not pose a threat to Israel in the future.”
The U.N. vote comes as seventeen countries recently issued a joint statement calling for a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel.
“As leaders of countries deeply concerned for the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, including many of our own citizens, we fully support the movement towards a ceasefire and hostage release deal now on the table and as outlined by President Biden on May 31, 2024,” the statement reads. “There is no time to lose.”
“We call on Hamas to close this agreement, that Israel is ready to move forward with, and begin the process of releasing our citizens.”
