UN Security Council adopts US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal

The UN Security Council voted Monday in favor of a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal.

The 15-member council negotiated the deal for more than a week before Monday's vote. The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, hailed the result as a “vote for peace”. Hamas and Israel have indicated support for the proposal.

“Yesterday, the UN Security Council called on Hamas to accept the proposed deal, which would end the fighting in Gaza. What is needed – now more than ever – is a ceasefire with the release of the hostages. Israel has already accepted this agreement. “Now the ball is in Hamas's court,” Thomas-Greenfield wrote in a statement on Tuesday.

The proposal was adopted unanimously by 14 votes to 0, with Russia abstaining.

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The ceasefire proposal calls for a three-phase process leading to an end to the Israeli war in Gaza, beginning with the exchange of hostages in Gaza for Palestinians imprisoned in Israel.

The second phase would see a negotiated end to the war and Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. The third phase would cover the reconstruction of Gaza.

While the Biden administration says Israel accepted the deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has not publicly acknowledged it. Thomas-Greenfield highlighted the discrepancy in an interview with NPR on Monday.

“He didn't say [he accepts]for reasons that I don’t know…and that I can’t go into here,” she said.

A senior Hamas official confirmed the ceasefire agreement on Tuesday. Sami Abu Zuhri said Hamas was ready to negotiate the details, adding that it was up to Washington to ensure Israel respected them.

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“The US administration faces a real test to fulfill its commitments by forcing the occupation to immediately end the war by implementing the UN Security Council resolution,” Abu Zuhri said.

Osama Hamdan, another senior Hamas leader, echoed calls for a permanent ceasefire and said the group was ready for a fair deal on the prisoner exchange, but he said the resolution the UN was flawed and that Secretary of State Antony Blinken “is one of the obstacles.” reach an agreement because it only acts according to the wishes of “Israel”.

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“The resolution contains points that we do not accept, but its main aspects are positive,” Hamdan said. “The Security Council resolution will only take effect on the ground if the occupation accepts it.”