TRANSCRIPT
“The result of the voting is as follows: 14 votes in favour, 0 votes against, 1 abstention. The draft resolution has been adopted as resolution 2728 (2024)."
The chamber of the United Nations Security Council breaks out in applause as the results of a resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza are read out.
The resolution, proposed by the council's 10 elected nations, was approved with support from 14 of 15 members, with one abstention, the United States.
It calls for an immediate and long-lasting ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the unconditional release of all hostages in Gaza, but does not make that ceasefire dependent on their release.
In an emotional speech, Palestinian Envoy to the United Nations Riyad Mansour said the resolution must be a "turning point" in the conflict.
“Life must prevail in Gaza, must prevail in Gaza. Freedom must prevail in Palestine. For six months now, every single Palestinian in Gaza has endured untold suffering, loss, pain and tragedy. This must stop now.”
The ambassadors for Mozambique, Algeria and the U-K, were among those hailing the "historic" vote after multiple unsuccessful attempts in recent months.
The US Ambassador, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, praised the cooperation of members on some but not all of the U-S's suggested changes to what she described as a "non-binding" resolution.
But the ambassador for China was quick to say that U-N Security Council resolutions - covered in Article 25 of the U-N Charter - are binding under international law.
Amid early uncertainty about the resolution's force - Mr Mansour has called on the U-N to take punitive measures if Israel does not comply - the reactions of Palestinians in Gaza were mixed.
This man, sheltering in a mosque in central Gaza after being displaced from Khan Younis, said the call for a "lasting ceasefire" was not enough after nearly six months of conflict.
“We do not want a temporary cease-fire but one that is complete, constant, and permanent. Anything less than that is unnecessary. Today the war will stop, and tomorrow we will return to missiles, destruction, and killing. This talk is of no use.”
Hamas has welcomed the resolution, which aligns closely with its own ceasefire demands, saying it is ready to exchange hostages for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.
But in Israel, the response of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was defiant.
Accusing the U-S of retreating from a “principled position” by allowing the vote to pass, he announced the cancellation of a planned visit to Washington by a high-level Israeli delegation.
White House officials described being "surprised", "disappointed" and "perplexed" by the decision.
Nonetheless, the choice to abstain, rather than veto the resolution, as the U-S has done three times before at the Security Council, is evidence of the increasing division between the historic allies.
National security spokesperson John Kirby was insistent it did not represent a shift in policy.
“We have been clear and we've been consistent in our support for a ceasefire as part of a hostage deal. That's how the hostage deal is structured. And the resolution acknowledges the ongoing talks. We want it to get to a place where we could support that resolution. But because the final text does not have key language that we think is essential, like a condemnation of Hamas, we could not support it.”
The U-S has said it will find "other ways" of exerting pressure on Israel to end its offensives, which Gaza's health ministry says have led to the deaths of more than 32,000 people since October the 7th.
A widely condemned planned assault on Rafah was expected to be part of talks between Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan which are still going ahead.
Speaking outside the White House, the Mr Gallant said Israel could not contemplate ending its campaign without the release of the more than 130 hostages who remain in Gaza, including at least 33 believed to have died.
“We have no moral right to stop the war while there are still hostages held in Gaza. The lack of a decisive victory in Gaza may bring us closer to a war in the north.”
U-N Secretary-General António Guterres, who in a statement on social media has called for the resolution to be implemented, has said an offensive on Rafah would lead to a “catastrophic humanitarian situation."
At a meeting with the Jordanian Foreign Minister, he has also criticised the Israeli decision not to allow UNRWA convoys to go to northern Gaza is totally unacceptable.
“Those that took that decision must assume the responsibility facing history of the consequences of the decision in relation to the dramatic situation of the people in northern Gaza, where, as I mentioned, we have already children dying of hunger.”
With famine imminent for northern Gaza by May and the whole of the population of 2.3 million by July, hundreds of aid trucks are reportedly idling on Gaza's northern and southern borders.
This woman says at a time when they should be observing the holy fasting month of Ramadan, she and her family have been forced to resort to eating wild plants.
“There is no food at all, nothing to cook. We have been consumed by hunger. We have nothing to eat. We crave vegetables, fish, and meat. We fast on empty stomachs. We can no longer fast. We are dizzy from hunger. There is nothing to help the body resist”
