UNSC adopts a cease-fire resolution aimed at ending Israel-Hamas war

The UN Security Council on Monday overwhelmingly approved its first resolution endorsing a cease-fire plan aimed at ending the eight-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

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• 14 OF THE 15 SECURITY COUNCIL MEMBERS APPROVED THE RESOLUTION

The US-sponsored resolution welcomes a cease-fire proposal announced by President Joe Biden that the United States says Israel has accepted. It calls on the militant Palestinian group Hamas to accept the three-phase plan.

The resolution - which was approved with 14 of the 15 Security Council members voting in favour and Russia abstaining - calls on Israel and Hamas “to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition”.

Whether Israel and Hamas agree to go forward with the plan remains in question, but the resolution’s strong support in the UN’s most powerful body puts added pressure on both parties to approve the proposal.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel on Monday, where he urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the plan for postwar Gaza as he pushed for more international pressure on Hamas to agree to the cease-fire proposal. Netanyahu has been sceptical of the deal, saying that Israel is still committed to destroying Hamas.