UN SC backs plan for Israel-Hamas truce

The United Nations Security Council on Monday adopted a US-drafted resolution backing a proposal outlined by President Joe Biden for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian resistance movement Hamas in the Gaza Strip.Russia abstained from the vote, while the remaining 14 council members voted in favour. The US had finalised its text on Sunday after six days of negotiations among the council.Biden laid out a three-phase ceasefire plan on May 31 that he described as an Israeli initiative. Some Security Council members questioned whether Israel had accepted the plan to end the fighting in Gaza.The resolution welcomes the new ceasefire proposal, "which Israel accepted, calls upon Hamas to also accept it, and urges both parties to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition."The resolution also goes into detail about the proposal, and spells out that "if the negotiations take longer than six weeks for phase one, the ceasefire will still continue as long as negotiations continue."The council in March demanded for an immediate ceasefire and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas.For months, negotiators from the US, Egypt and Qatar have been trying to mediate a ceasefire. Hamas says it wants a permanent end to the war in the Gaza Strip and Israeli withdrawal from the enclave of 2.3mn people.Israel has launched an air, ground and sea assault on the Palestinian territory, killing more than 37,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.