2024-03-25 17:10:00
The UN Security Council approved this Monday for the first time in five months of war a resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, a call blocked several times by the United States, which on this occasion abstained.
The resolution, adopted to applause by 14 votes in favor and one abstention, “demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan” leading to a lasting truce, and “demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”
The US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, linked the truce to the release of hostages, in statements after the vote.
“A ceasefire can begin as soon as the first hostage is released,” the diplomat said. “This is the only way to ensure a ceasefire,” she stressed.
Meanwhile, France called for a permanent truce after Ramadan.
“This crisis is not over. The Council will have to remain mobilized and return to work immediately. When Ramadan is over, in two weeks, a permanent ceasefire will have to be established, said French ambassador to the UN Nicolas de Riviere.
Russia and China had vetoed on Friday a draft resolution proposed by the United States, which noted the “need” for an “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza.
The North American proposal linked this ceasefire to the release of the hostages captured by Hamas in its attack on Israel on October 7, which triggered the current conflict.
Until now, the United States had consistently opposed the term “ceasefire” in UN resolutions and blocked three such texts.
The abstention of the United States, Israel’s main ally, in this Monday’s vote does not represent “a change” in policy, National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told the press, stating that his country supports a halt to the fire but abstained because the resolution does not condemn the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
The resolution approved this Monday is the result of the work of the non-permanent members of the Council, who negotiated throughout the weekend with the United States to try to avoid a new failure, according to diplomatic sources, who expressed some optimism about the result of the vote. .
The Israeli response to the October attack has left at least 32,333 dead in the Gaza Strip, according to the health ministry of Hamas, which rules the coastal enclave.
According to Israel, some 130 people of the 250 kidnapped are still hostages in Gaza, of whom 33 have died.
Very divided for years on the Israeli-Palestinian issue, the Security Council has only adopted two resolutions since October 7, of the eight put to the vote, although of an essentially humanitarian nature.
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, announced on Sunday that Israel has formally banned the delivery of food aid in northern Gaza.
“This decision is another nail in the coffin” of efforts to bring aid to Gazans, said spokeswoman Juliette Touma.
The Israeli army claimed to be fighting Hamas members on Monday around at least two hospitals in the Gaza Strip, and to have killed more than 20 Palestinian fighters in the last 24 hours.
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