New York City: The United Nations Security Council on Monday approved a resolution endorsing a ceasefire plan aimed at ending the eight-month war in Gaza, with 14 of 15 members voting in favor. And Russia did not participate.

It was the 11th time the council voted on a draft resolution on the Gaza war. Only three have been adopted.

Resolution 2735, a copy of which was obtained by Arab News, welcomes the three-phase ceasefire proposal announced by US President Joe Biden on May 31, which Washington said had been accepted by Israeli officials. , and has also called on Hamas to accept it. It urges both parties to “fully implement their terms without delay and without reservation.”

After it was passed, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said the council “sent a clear message to Hamas: Accept the cease-fire agreement on the table.” If that happens, “the fighting will stop today,” he added.

He said Hamas could now see that the international community was united behind a deal that would save lives, help the people of Gaza “rebuild and recover” and reunite Israeli hostages with their families. will go

Thomas Greenfield added that the deal would “also lead to a more secure Israel and open up the possibility of further progress, including a calm along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.”

“We cannot forget the Israelis displaced from their homes in northern Israel under the threat of Hezbollah. These attacks by terrorist groups supported by Iran must stop. They must be stopped.”

He said that Palestinians have endured hell in this war started by Hamas. There is an opportunity to chart a different course; Hamas should take it.

The first phase of the plan, as stated in the resolution, “requires an immediate, complete and total ceasefire, including the release of hostages, including women, the elderly and wounded, the return of the remains of some hostages who have been killed.” , (and) exchange of Palestinian prisoners.

It calls for the withdrawal of Israeli forces from the populated areas of Gaza, the return of Palestinian citizens to their homes and neighborhoods in all areas, including the north of Gaza, as well as the safe and effective distribution of humanitarian aid. Deliver to all Palestinian citizens who need it throughout the Gaza Strip, including housing units provided by the international community.”

The second phase would include “a permanent cessation of hostilities, the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.” The third phase “will begin a major, multi-year reconstruction project for Gaza and return the remains of any dead hostages still in Gaza to their families.”

The proposal states that if the talks between the two sides take more than six weeks during the first phase, the ceasefire will remain in place for as long as the talks continue, and that it will “work to ensure that the talks continue.” welcomes the willingness of the United States, Egypt and Qatar to continue until all agreements are reached and the second phase begins.

It rejects “any possible attempt to impose demographic or territorial change in the Gaza Strip, including any action to reduce the territory of Gaza”, reiterates its commitment to a two-state solution, and “Gaza’s Emphasizes the importance of unifying the Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority.

Slovenia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Ondina Bloker Drobic, told council members after the vote: “We have been saying this for months now: the suffering in Gaza must end.

“We have been continuously demanding the immediate release of the hostages. However, military operations to release hostages, in which hundreds of civilians were killed and injured, as happened in the Nusairat refugee camp on Saturday, are not a new norm. Principles of international humanitarian law and human rights law also apply to hostage rescue operations.

Listing the many atrocities and horrors witnessed during the war, Drobyk added: “Civilians, including women, children, the disabled and the elderly, were denied aid; humanitarian and UN personnel were killed; UN compounds were targeted.” Gone; hospitals besieged without anesthesia; mass graves targeted, attacked and destroyed in Israel should not be.

“Images of children, some born during this war, dying of malnutrition” will go down in history as defining images of a conflict “this council should have stopped.”

He added: “This is why we once again call for an immediate ceasefire. This is the first step towards achieving a comprehensive solution.”