HAMILTON, Canada
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Monday a failure to implement the resolution adopted by the UN Security Council that called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza “would be unforgivable.”
“The Security Council just approved a long-awaited resolution on Gaza, demanding an immediate ceasefire, and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages. This resolution must be implemented. Failure would be unforgivable,” Guterres wrote on X.
The Council passed the resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire for the month of Ramadan, leading to “a lasting sustainable” cease-fire.
Fourteen nations voted in favor of the resolution, presented by 10 elected members of the Council, while the US abstained from voting.
The resolution 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.
