UN Security Council approves Gaza cease-fire resolution as US abstains

The United Nations Security Council on Monday passed its first resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza after the U.S. abstained from the vote on Israel’s war against Hamas.

The final vote was 14 in favor, no votes against and one abstention. After the vote, the council broke into applause.

The resolution calls for an immediate cease-fire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and for the immediate release of all hostages.

The vote comes just two days after Russia and China vetoed a resolution from the U.S. that tied a cease-fire to the release of hostages.

The latest resolution has the backing of officials from the United Nations, who have expressed growing concern about the plight of Palestinians in Gaza.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said after the vote that “this resolution must be implemented.”

“Failure would be unforgivable,” he wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.

U.N. Security Council resolutions are legally binding, unlike those from the General Assembly. Still, they can technically be ignored.

The U.N.’s high court, which is hearing a genocide case related to the war, has ordered Israel to take measures to protect civilians in Gaza, but it’s not clear how much those calls are being addressed.

The decision for the U.S. to abstain may anger Israel, which has relied on its partner at the council to protect it during the war. Washington has vetoed three other resolutions calling for a cease-fire.

Israel has threatened to move into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians are sheltering. Israel has previously threatened to fight against Hamas in Rafah by Ramadan, but has yet to do so.

Still, Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said he approved plans from his military for a Rafah operation, even as the U.S. has begun urging him to consider alternatives.

Israel is fighting against Hamas in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attack that killed about 1,200 people. Hamas also took about 250 hostages, about 100 of whom are believed to be alive and still in its custody. More than 31,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza since the war began.

Ramadan began March 10 and ends on April 9, making the cease-fire temporary and just a couple of weeks, though it could lead to a lasting pause.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Washington could not agree with the resolution because it did not condemn Hamas for Oct. 7. But she said they “fully support” other critical objectives in the measure, allowing for an abstention.

“This should be a season of peace,” she said of Ramadan. “This resolution rightly acknowledges that during the month of Ramadan we must recommit to peace.”

Thomas-Greenfield also said the “only path” to a true and lasting peace is the release of all hostages, which she says the resolution supports.

Netanyahu canceled sending a delegation to Washington after the U.N. vote., according to The Associated Press.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said during a press briefing that Netanyahu’s decision was “disappointing,” but he stressed the U.S. has not changed its policy on Gaza.

“We’ve been consistent in our support for a cease-fire as part of a hostage deal. That’s how the hostage deal was structured,” Kirby said. “And the resolution acknowledges the ongoing talks.”

Israel’s U.N. representative Gilad Erdan slammed the resolution for failing to condemn Hamas.

“This council refused to condemn the Oct. 7 massacre,” he said. “This is a disgrace.”

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian representative to the U.N., said the resolution filled a moral obligation to take steps toward stopping the war.

“This must be a turning point, this must lead to saving lives on the ground,” he said. “A nation is being murdered.”

Updated at 12:14 p.m.