UN Security Council backs Biden’s plan for Israel-Hamas ceasefire in Gaza
- Fourteen member states voted in favour of the US-drafted resolution, while Russia, one of the veto powers, abstained
The United Nations Security Council backed a proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden for a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip and urged the Palestinian militants to accept the deal aimed at ending the eight-month-long war.
Hamas welcomed the adoption of the US-drafted resolution and said in a statement that it is ready to cooperate with mediators over implementing the principles of the plan “that are consistent with the demands of our people and resistance”.
Russia abstained from Monday’s UN vote, while the remaining 14 Security Council members voted in favour of the resolution supporting a three-phase ceasefire plan laid out by Biden on May 31 that he described as an Israeli initiative.
“Today we voted for peace,” US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council after the vote.
The resolution welcomes the new ceasefire proposal, states that Israel has accepted it, calls on Hamas to agree to it and “urges both parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition”.
