Israel denounced on Monday the abstention of its American ally which allowed the adoption, for the first time, of a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate
"ceasefire"
in the Gaza Strip threatened by famine, after more than five months of war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas.
Immediately after the adoption of the resolution, Israel canceled the visit of a delegation that was expected to Washington, notably to discuss a potential offensive in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, declaring that the American abstention
“harmed”
both his war effort and his efforts to free the hostages.
“This is a clear step back from the consistent position of the United States in the Security Council since the start of the war”
on October 7, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement.
In response, Washington said he was
“very disappointed”
.
"We are very disappointed that they are not coming to Washington to allow us to have a substantive conversation about credible alternatives to a ground operation in Rafah
," said John Kirby, spokesman for the National Security Council.
The United States then said it would find ways to warn Israel against an offensive in Rafah.
“We believe that this type of large-scale invasion would be a mistake, not only because of the risks to civilians which would be immense
,” said White House spokesman Matthew Miller.
US abstention
Carried by non-permanent members of the Council, the ceasefire resolution was adopted by 14 votes in favor and one abstention, that of the United States.
Historical allies of Israel, the United States had, until then, systematically opposed the term
“ceasefire”
in UN resolutions, blocking three texts to this effect.
In recent weeks, however, they have shown signs of a change in tone which led to a proposed resolution on the
“need”
for a ceasefire, rejected on Friday by Russia and China.
Shortly after the vote, the White House refuted accusations of
“change of course”
.
At the UN, the American ambassador insisted that a ceasefire in Gaza could only begin
“with the release of a first hostage”
.
For its part, the Islamist movement Hamas
“welcomed the call from the United Nations Security Council for an immediate ceasefire”
.
Same tone for the Palestinian Authority which also demanded
“a definitive end to this criminal war”
.
The resolution
"demands an immediate ceasefire for the month of Ramadan"
- which began two weeks ago -, which should
"lead to a lasting ceasefire"
, and
"demands the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages
.
Trump calls to
“
end
”
the war
In a sign of the strained relations between Washington and Israel, former US President Donald Trump said in an interview with Israeli media published on Monday that Israel must
“finish”
the war in Gaza because it is losing.
“lots of support”
around the world.
“We must end the war.
“We have to end it
,” Donald Trump said, according to a partial transcript of an interview with the
Israel Hayom newspaper.
“And I will say that Israel has to be very careful because it is losing a large part of the world, losing a lot of support, we have to finish, we have to do the work
,” added Donald Trump.
“
Unforgivable
”
Not implementing the call for a ceasefire would be
“unforgivable”
, judged UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres.
“We do not have the moral right to stop the war as long as there are hostages in Gaza
,” warned Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, visiting the United States, dashing international hopes of a cessation of hostilities.
The French Minister of Foreign Affairs, Stéphane Séjourné, welcomed the adoption of the resolution and insisted that it be
“fully implemented”
.
The war broke out on October 7 when Hamas commandos infiltrated from the Gaza Strip carried out an unprecedented attack in southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of at least 1,160 people, mainly civilians, according to a count of AFP established from official Israeli data.
According to Israel, around 250 people have been kidnapped and 130 of them are still hostages in Gaza, of whom 33 are believed to have died.
In retaliation, Israel vowed to destroy Hamas, which it considers a terrorist organization along with the United States and the European Union.