But as famine looms in Gaza and amid growing global pressure for a truce in the war that Palestinian health authorities say has killed some 32,000 people, the US abstained on Tuesday (AEDT) to allow the Security Council to demand an immediate ceasefire for the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, which ends in two weeks.
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“It was the Hamas massacre that started this war,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan said. “The resolution just voted upon makes it seem as if the war started by itself … Israel did not start this war, nor did Israel want this war.”
Hamas welcomed the Security Council resolution, saying in a statement that it “affirms readiness to engage in immediate prisoner swaps on both sides”.
Hamas said it has informed mediators that it will stick to its original proposal on reaching a comprehensive ceasefire, which includes the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza, a …