UN vote ups pressure on Israel, Hamas for Gaza deal

United Nations Security Council votes to approve Gaza cease-fire resolution

Hamas wants a "permanent cease-fire" while Israel is vowing to "continue fighting to achieve total military victory"

(Image credit: Selcuk Acar / Anadolu via Getty Images)

published 11 June 2024

What happened

The United Nations Security Council voted 14-0 on Monday to endorse a U.S.-backed cease-fire deal for Gaza, increasing pressure on Israel and Hamas to bring an end to the conflict. Russia abstained. The three-stage plan, approved by Israel's war cabinet, was unveiled 10 days ago by President Joe Biden.

The Security Council vote "sent a clear message to Hamas to accept the cease-fire deal on the table," said U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Israel has already approved the plan, and "the fighting could stop today if Hamas would do the same."

But Israel's U.N. representative "did not say that Israel has accepted the terms of the cease-fire plan," and while Hamas welcomed the resolution and indicated it would "engage in indirect negotiations" to implement the deal, it also "did not endorse the plan as a whole," The New York Times said. The "central sticking point," The Washington Post said, is that Hamas wants a "permanent cease-fire" while Israel is vowing to "continue fighting to achieve total military victory, a goal U.S. officials say is unattainable."

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.