WATCH: Moment UN passes Gaza ceasefire resolution
UN The Security Council has called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with the US not vetoing the move in a reversal from its previous position.
It also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
It was the first time the council had called for a cease-fire since the war began in October after repeated failed attempts.
The US move marks a growing rift between it and its ally Israel over Israel's offensive on Gaza.
In an unusually strong condemnation, a statement from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said the US had “abandoned” its previous position.
“Regrettably, the United States did not veto the new resolution,” it said.
The report said this undermined efforts to free the hostages by giving Hamas hope that it could use international pressure on Israel to achieve a ceasefire without releasing the prisoners.
It also said Mr Netanyahu had decided to cancel meetings between Israeli representatives and US officials scheduled for this week in Washington.
Israel's defense minister says it will not end the war there as hostages are being held in Gaza.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian representative to the UN, welcomed the resolution but said it was overdue.
“It took six months, 100,000 Palestinians killed and maimed, two million displaced and famine, for this council to finally demand an immediate ceasefire,” Mr Mansour said.
Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist group that rules Gaza, triggered the war on October 7 with an unprecedented attack on Israel. It said it was ready to “engage in an immediate prisoner exchange process leading to the release of prisoners on both sides”.
The group has conditioned the release of hostages on the condition that Israel release Palestinians in Israeli jails.
In Monday's vote at the Security Council, the United States abstained, while the remaining 14 members voted in favor.
The United States has previously blocked resolutions calling for a cease-fire, saying such a move would be wrong, while delicate negotiations between Israel and Hamas for a ceasefire and the release of hostages are underway.
But on Thursday it presented its own draft, which called for a ceasefire for the first time, signaling a hardening of its stance on Israel.
US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said the US decision to allow the resolution to pass did not mean “a change in our policy”. The United States supported the ceasefire but did not vote in favor of the resolution because the text did not condemn Hamas.
Speaking at a press conference after the resolution was passed, Mr Kirby said: “We are very clear, we are very committed to supporting a ceasefire as part of the hostage agreement. That is how the hostage agreement is structured. The resolution recognizes the ongoing negotiations.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the resolution “must be implemented” for a ceasefire and the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages”.
The US has pressed Israel to provide aid to Gaza, where it says its entire population suffers from food insecurity.
Mark Lyall-Grant, who was Britain's ambassador to the UN from 2009 to 2015, told BBC Radio's 4 PM program that the resolution now “obliges Israel, essentially, to halt its military campaign for the next 15 days” – the remainder of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which the text stipulates as a ceasefire.
Because the Palestinian Authority is not a state, the text is legally binding on Israel, but not on Hamas, he said.
The US has previously been accused of using its veto power to protect Israel at the UN.
However, Israel has been increasingly critical of the rising death toll in Gaza, where more than 32,000 people – mainly women and children – have been killed by Israeli bombardment, according to the territory's Hamas-run health ministry.
The US has pressed Israel to do more to provide aid to Gaza, where it says the entire population suffers from severe food insecurity.
UN Israel accused of blocking aid; Israel has blamed the UN for failing to deliver supplies.
The current war erupted after Hamas gunmen entered the territory and attacked Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages to Gaza, according to Israeli calculations.
Of those taken, 130 remain unaccounted for following a series of releases, rescues and recovery of bodies.
Although Israel has decided to cancel its delegation's planned visit to Washington this weekend following the Security Council resolution, planned meetings between Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Galand and US National Security Adviser Jack Sullivan will go ahead as planned, Mr Kirby said.
“We look forward to making it clear to the defense minister that the United States continues to stand with Israel against Hamas,” he said at a press conference on Monday.
