Israel defied the United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire and continued attacking the besieged Gaza Strip, even as the majority-Muslim population of the region observes the holy month of Ramadan.
"The State of Israel will not cease fire," Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz posted on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter. "We will destroy Hamas and continue to fight until the last of the abductees returns home."
The UN voted to call for an immediate cease-fire on Tuesday, after months of internal debate and three failed resolutions. Notably, the United States chose to abstain from voting on Tuesday, rather than vetoing the resolution as they had in the past.
In addition to calling for the Israeli Defence Forces and Hamas to lay down their arms, the resolution also urged for an "immediate and unconditional release of all hostages" and the lifting of "all barriers to the provision of humanitarian assistance."
Israel has engaged in a large-scale bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks. Members of Hamas killed more than 1,000 Israelis and kidnapped 253 people. More than 30,000 Palestinians have been killed during Israeli retaliation, while international human rights observers caution that all of Gaza is at risk of famine.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressed anger at the United States for its decision to abstain from the vote, rather than exercising its veto power. In retaliation, Israel canceled a delegation of diplomats who were supposed to visit Washington to discuss a planned invasion of the Gazan city of Rafah.
The Biden administration has said that a ground invasion of Rafah would be a "mistake." The geographically small city's population has swelled in recent weeks as displaced Palestinians flee Gaza's war-torn northern cities. Netanyahu previously said he was only sending a delegation to Washington "out of respect" for Biden.
