The United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a US-drafted resolution supporting a ceasefire plan in Gaza, as Washington leads an intense diplomatic campaign to push Hamas to accept the proposal, reports BSS.
The text -- passed with 14 votes in favor and Russia abstaining -- "welcomes" the truce and hostage release proposal announced on May 31 by President Joe Biden, and urges "parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition."
The resolution says Israel has accepted the truce plan, and "calls upon Hamas to also accept it."
Hamas said Monday that it "welcomes" the vote.
The United States, a staunch ally of Israel, has been widely criticized for having blocked several previous UN draft resolutions calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
But Biden late last month launched a new US effort to secure a truce and hostage release.
"Today we voted for peace," US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the UN session.
"Today this Council sent a clear message to Hamas: accept the ceasefire deal on the table. Israel has already agreed to this deal and the fighting could stop today if Hamas would do the same."
However the deal remains uncertain as Hamas officials have insisted that any ceasefire agreement must guarantee a permanent end to the war -- a demand Israel has firmly rejected, vowing to destroy Hamas and free the remaining captives.
Under the proposal, Israel would withdraw from Gaza population centers and Hamas would free the hostages. The ceasefire would last an initial six weeks, with it extended as negotiators seek a permanent end to hostilities.
The "text is not perfect," said Algeria's UN Ambassador Amar Bendjama. "But it offers a glimmer of hope to the Palestinians, as the alternative is continued killing and suffering."
Bd-pratidin English/Tanvir Raihan
