The United Nations Security Council on Monday passed a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas, more than five months after the conflict started.

The resolution also calls for immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said.

“This resolution must be implemented,” Guterres said in a social media post on Monday. “Failure would be unforgivable.”

Previous attempts to pass a resolution in the council had faced challenges from some of the permanent members of the body – the United States, China and Russia – who had used their veto powers.

The resolution passed on Monday avoided a veto. The United States, an ally of Israel, abstained from the vote. The other details of the resolution were not immediately clear.

Israel’s war on Gaza began after Hamas’ incursion into southern Israel on October 7. More than 1,200 persons were killed in Israel in the attack and more than 200 were taken hostage. Some of the hostages were released in November as part of a brief ceasefire agreement in exchange for Palestinians imprisoned by Israel and humanitarian aid.

Israel’s military assault on Gaza has killed more than 32,000 persons in the besieged region over the past five months.

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