UN Security Council adopts a cease-fire resolution aimed at ending Israel-Hamas war in Gaza

The U.N. Security Council on June 10 approved its first resolution endorsing a cease-fire plan aimed at ending the eight-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The U.N. Security Council on June 10 approved its first resolution endorsing a cease-fire plan aimed at ending the eight-month Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.

The vote on the U.S.-sponsored resolution was 14-0, with Russia abstaining.

The resolution welcomes a cease-fire proposal announced by President Joe Biden that the United States says Israel has accepted. It calls on Hamas, which initially said it viewed the proposal “positively,” to accept the three-phase plan.

It urges Israel and Hamas “to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.”

The war was sparked by Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mainly Israeli civilians, and saw about 250 others taken hostage. About 120 hostages remain, with 43 pronounced dead.

Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 36,700 Palestinians and wounded in excess of 83,000 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It has also destroyed about 80% of Gaza’s buildings, according to the U.N.

The Security Council adopted a resolution on March 25 demanding a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan which ended April 9, with the U.S. abstaining. But there was no halt to the war.