UN demands ceasefire in Gaza during Muslim holy month of Ramadan, its first demand to halt fighting

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, United States Ambassador and Representative to the United Nations, holds to abstain her vote as the United Nations Security Council passed a ceasefire resolution in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. Photo / AP

The United Nations Security Council has issued its first demand to halt the fighting in Gaza, calling for a ceasefire during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan after the US abstained - drawing an immediate protest from the Israeli prime minister.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cancelled a planned visit to Washington by a high-level delegation and accused the US of “retreating” from a “principled position” by allowing the vote to pass without conditioning the ceasefire on the release of hostages held by Hamas.

The resolution passed 14-0 after the US decided not to use its veto power on the resolution, which also demanded the release of all hostages taken captive during Hamas’ October 7 attack in southern Israel.

A key reason for past US vetoes of Security Council ceasefire resolutions was the failure to tie them directly to the release of hostages. The US argued that the two issues were linked while Russia and China favoured unconditional calls for ceasefires.

Palestinian woman Nuzha Avda, who lost her home after Israel's attacks and took shelter at Shifa Hospital, holds her triplets in her arms after the hospital was hit multiple times in Israel's attacks in Gaza Strip on March 21. Photo / Getty Images

The resolution demands the release of hostages but does not make it a condition for the ceasefire.

The US decision to abstain comes at a time of growing tensions between US President Joe Biden’s administration and Netanyahu, who has rejected US efforts to prevent a potentially devastating Israeli ground invasion of the southern Gaza city of Rafah and has dismissed Biden’s call for the eventual creation of a Palestinian state.

During its US visit, the Israeli delegation was to present White House officials with its plans for Rafah, where more than one million Palestinian civilians have sought shelter from the war.

White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the US had been “consistent” in its support for a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal.

“The reason we abstained is because this resolution text did not condemn Hamas,” Kirby said.

The vote comes after Russia and China vetoed a US-sponsored resolution late last week that would have supported “an immediate and sustained ceasefire” in the Israeli-Hamas conflict.

The US warned that the approved resolution could hurt negotiations to halt hostilities by the US, Egypt and Qatar, raising the possibility of another veto, this time by the Americans.

Because Ramadan ends next month, the ceasefire demand would last for just two weeks, though the draft says the pause in fighting should lead “to a permanent sustainable ceasefire”.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that the resolution “spoke out in support of the ongoing diplomatic efforts”, adding that negotiators were “getting closer to a deal for an immediate ceasefire with the release of all hostages, but we’re not there yet”.

“So today, my ask to members of this council and to member states in every region of the world is this: speak out and demand unequivocally that Hamas accepts the deal on the table,” she said.

The resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members, was backed by Russia and China and the 22-nation Arab Group at the United Nations.

Destroyed buildings stand in the Gaza Strip. Photo / AP

Algeria’s UN ambassador, the Arab representative on the council, thanked the council for “finally” demanding a ceasefire.

“We look forward to the commitment and the compliance of the Israeli occupying power with this resolution, for them to put an end to the bloodbath without any conditions, to end the suffering of the Palestinian people.” he said. “It is the responsibility of the Security Council to ensure the implementation of the provisions of this resolution.”

Shortly before the vote, the elected members changed the final draft resolution to drop the word “permanent” from its demand that a Ramadan ceasefire will lead to “a permanent sustainable ceasefire”, apparently at the request of the US.

Russia complained that dropping the word could allow Israel “to resume its military operation in the Gaza Strip at any moment” after Ramadan and proposed an amendment to restore it. That amendment was defeated because it failed to get the minimum nine “yes” vote — with three council members voting in favour, the US voting against, and 11 countries abstaining.

Since the start of the war, the Security Council has adopted two resolutions on the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, but none has called for a ceasefire.

United States Air Force drops humanitarian aid to Palestinians in Gaza City. Photo / AP

- AP