US President Joe Biden on Monday once again called on Hamas to accept the ceasefire and hostage release deal he outlined, after the UN Security Council adopted a US-drafted resolution which backs the proposal.
“The UN Security Council just adopted our resolution calling on Hamas to accept the deal to establish a ceasefire with the release of hostages,” Biden wrote in a post on social media.
“Hamas says it wants a ceasefire. This deal is an opportunity to prove they mean it,” he added.
14 among the 15 members of the Security Council voted in favor of the US proposal earlier on Monday, while Russia abstained from the vote.
The United States initially submitted the resolution to the UN Security Council last week. The text of the resolution was finalized on Sunday.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said after the vote, “Today, the UN Security Council sent a clear message to Hamas: Accept the ceasefire-hostage deal on the table.”
“Israel has already accepted this deal. The fighting could stop today – and hostages could come home today – if Hamas agreed to the deal,” she added.
The Hamas terrorist organization welcomed the decision of the UN Security Councils and said, "Hamas is ready to cooperate with the mediating countries regarding the implementation of the principles of the proposal."
According to the proposal outlined by Biden, the first phase of the three-phase process would last for six weeks and would include a full and complete ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli forces from all populated areas of Gaza, and the release of a number of hostages, including women, the elderly, and the wounded, in exchange for the release of hundreds of Palestinian Arab prisoners.
Phase two would see the release of all remaining living hostages, while phase three would encompass "a major reconstruction plan for Gaza," said the President, as well as the repatriation of the remains of deceased hostages to their families.