* Israel ‘will not stop war’ until hostages freed: defence minister
The Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Monday issued a statement welcoming a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying it “affirms readiness to engage in immediate prisoner swaps on both sides.”
The resolution passed on Monday demands an immediate ceasefire between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages after the United States abstained from the vote.
🚨🇵🇸 HAMAS OFFICIAL STATEMENT on UN CEASEFIRE Resolution:
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas welcomes today's call by the UN Security Council for an immediate ceasefire. We emphasize the necessity of reaching a… pic.twitter.com/nTCozDW2Ue
— Jackson Hinkle 🇺🇸 (@jacksonhinklle) March 25, 2024
Also, the Palestinian Authority has hailed the UN Security Council’s demand for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and said the fighting must end permanently.
“We welcome the UN Security Council resolution,” Hussein al-Sheikh, minister for civilian affairs in the Authority which has partial administrative control in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said on social media platform X.
“We call for a permanent cessation to this criminal war and Israel’s immediate withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.”
Israel however said it will not end its war against Hamas until the group frees hostages, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant has said in Washington after Israel cancelled another US-bound delegation over a UN Security Council ceasefire call.
“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,” Gallant said ahead of meetings with National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
The UN Security Council on Monday passed a resolution demanding a cease-fire in Gaza during the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which already began on March 11 and is set to end on April 9.
As many as 14 countries voted in favor of the resolution, presented by 10 elected members of the Council, while the US abstained from voting.
The resolution called for an “immediate cease-fire for the month of Ramadan respected by all parties leading to a lasting sustainable cease-fire.”
It also demanded the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access to address their medical and other humanitarian needs.”
Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Palestinian territory since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.
More than 32,333 Palestinians have since been killed and over 74,694 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.
The Israeli war, now in its 171st day, has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.
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