"It is now the responsibility of the United Nations Security Council to ensure that there is compliance with the resolution, which is binding on the parties," South Africa's Department of International Relations and Cooperation said in a statement.
On Monday, The United Nations Security Council demanded a cease-fire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, its first demand to halt fighting since the war began.
The United States abstained on the resolution, which also demanded the release of all hostages taken captive during Hamas’ October 7 surprise attack in southern Israel. But the measure does not link that demand to the cease-fire during Ramadan, which ends April 9.
The vote comes after Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution Friday that would have supported “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israeli-Hamas conflict.
The U.S. warned that the resolution approved on Monday could hurt negotiations to halt hostilities by the U.S., Egypt and Qatar, raising the possibility of another veto, this time by the Americans.
The resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members, is backed by Russia and China and the 22-nation Arab Group at the United Nations.
The 15-member council approved the resolution 14-0 after the U.S. decided not to use its veto power on the measure, which also demanded the release of all hostages taken captive during Hamas’ October 7 surprise attack in southern Israel. The chamber broke into loud applause after the vote.
The U.S. decision to abstain comes at a time of growing tensions between President Joe Biden's administration and Netanyahu over Israel’s prosecution of the war, the high number of civilian casualties and the limited amounts of humanitarian assistance reaching Gaza. The two countries have also clashed over Netanyahu’s rejection of a Palestinian state, Jewish settler violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and the expansion of settlements there.
Israel responded by canceling a visit to Washington by a high-level delegation in the strongest public clash between the allies since the war began.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the U.S. of “retreating” from a “principled position” by allowing the vote to pass without conditioning the cease-fire on the release of hostages held by Hamas.
White House national security spokesman John Kirby said the administration was “kind of perplexed” by Netanyahu’s decision. He said the Israelis were “choosing to create a perception of daylight here when they don’t need to do that.”
Kirby and the American ambassador to the U.N. said the U.S. abstained because the resolution did not condemn Hamas.
In addition, the well-known antagonism between Netanyahu and Biden — which dates from Biden’s tenure as vice president — deepened after Biden questioned Israel’s strategy in combating Hamas.
Also, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, a Biden ally, suggested that Netanyahu was not operating in Israel’s best interests and called for the Jewish state to hold new elections. Biden signaled his approval of Schumer’s remarks, prompting a rebuke from Netanyahu.
During its U.S. visit, the Israeli delegation was to present White House officials with its plans for a possible ground invasion of Rafah, a city on the Egyptian border in southern Gaza where over one million Palestinian civilians have sought shelter from the war.
The vote came after Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-sponsored resolution Friday that would have supported “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israeli-Hamas conflict, claiming it did not call for an immediate cease-fire. The U.S. on the other hand has refused to support previous resolutions because Washington said the draft resolutions have failed to condemn Hamas for its attack on Israel.
Information in this report came from Reuters and the Associated Press
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