The United Nations Security Council has adopted a US-drafted resolution backing a proposal outlined by US President Joe Biden for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Russia abstained from the vote, while the remaining 14 council members voted in favour.
The US finalised its text on Sunday after six days of negotiations among the council. Hamas has responded positively to the resolution being passed.
What does the ceasefire deal include?
Biden laid out a three-phase ceasefire plan on 31 May that he described as an Israeli initiative.
The proposed deal would start with a six-week “full and complete ceasefire” in Gaza with Israeli forces pulling out of “populated areas” of the Palestinian enclave. It would also include the release of some hostages taken by Hamas during its 7 October attack on Israel. This would come in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
The deal would later expand to include a “permanent end to hostilities” and all remaining living hostages taken by Hamas being released. A final phase of the deal would implement the reconstruction of Gaza, which has been devastated by Israel’s bombardment.
Some Security Council members questioned whether Israel had accepted the plan to end the fighting in Gaza.
The resolution welcomes the new ceasefire proposal, “which Israel accepted, calls upon Hamas to also accept it, and urges both parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition”.
“We’re waiting on Hamas to agree to the ceasefire deal it claims to want,” US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the council before the vote.
“With every passing day, needless suffering continues.”
The resolution also goes into detail about the proposal, and spells out that “if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue”.
How has Hamas responded to the resolution being passed?
Hamas has welcomed the resolution, saying it is ready to cooperate with mediators over implementing the principles of the plan.
“Hamas welcomes what is included in the Security Council resolution that affirmed the permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the complete withdrawal, the prisoners’ exchange, the reconstruction, the return of the displaced to their areas of residence, the rejection of any demographic change or reduction in the area of the Gaza Strip, and the delivery of needed aid to our people in the Strip,” the militant group said in a statement.
Hamas also said it was willing to engage in indirect negotiations over implementing the principles “that are consistent with the demands of our people and resistance”.
US secretary of state Anthony Blinken is in Egypt to push for a ceasefire deal. Source: AAP / Amr Nabil/AP
In March, the council demanded an immediate ceasefire and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas.
For months, negotiators from the US, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to mediate a ceasefire.
Hamas says it wants a permanent end to the war in the Gaza Strip and Israeli withdrawal from the enclave of 2.3 million people.
Israel is retaliating against Hamas, which rules Gaza, over a 7 October attack by its militants.
More than 1,200 people were killed and over 250 taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 100 hostages are believed to remain captive in Gaza. Israel launched an air, ground and sea assault on the Palestinian territory, killing more than 37,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.
