UN Security Council votes for “immediate ceasefire” for the first time

The UN Security Council demanded for the first time a “immediate ceasefire” in Gaza, Monday March 25. This call had previously been blocked several times by the United States, which this time abstained. The resolution, adopted with applause by 14 votes in favor and one abstention, “demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan” (which started two weeks ago), in front of “bring to a lasting ceasefire”And “demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages”detained since the Hamas attack on October 7 on Israeli soil.

On the side of the belligerents, Israel deplored the abstention of the United States, which allowed the adoption of the resolution. That “harms both the war efforts and efforts to free the hostages”, Benjamin Netanyahu’s office wrote in a statement. In the process, Tel Aviv canceled the visit of a delegation that was expected in Washington. On the other hand, thehe Islamist movement Hamas has expressed its “willingness to engage in a process of exchange” of prisoners against hostages “immediately” as well as that “to achieve a permanent ceasefire leading to the withdrawal of all forces” Israelis from the territory.

This resolution was welcomed by many leaders around the world. The head of French diplomacy, Stéphane Séjourné, hoped that the resolution would be “fully implemented”while the French Ambassador to the UN Nicolas de Rivière congratulated the Security Council for breaking its silence “deafening”. The President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen judged that the implementation of this resolution was “vital for the protection of all civilians”.