United Nations Security Council Resolution 2728, adopted on 25 March 2024, demands an immediate ceasefire in the
Gaza war
The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...
during the month of
Ramadan
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It is observed by Muslims worldwide as a month of fasting (''Fasting in Islam, sawm''), communal prayer (salah), reflection, and community. It is also the month in which the Quran is believed ...
leading to a lasting sustainable ceasefire. It also demands the unconditional release of all hostages. The resolution received approval from 14 members, while the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
abstained from voting.
Background and procedures
Resolution 2728 was proposed by the E-10 (the non-permanent members) and followed the
veto
A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president (government title), president or monarch vetoes a bill (law), bill to stop it from becoming statutory law, law. In many countries, veto powe ...
of a US draft resolution regarding a ceasefire in Gaza by China and Russia on 22 March 2024.
A verbal amendment introduced by Russia reinserting the word "permanent" to qualify the ceasefire in the resolution's first operative paragraph received 3 votes in favour (Algeria, China, Russia), 11 abstentions and 1 against (United States) and therefore failed to pass due to an insufficient number of members voting in favour of the amendment.
It was reported that the Prime Minister of Israel stated that he would cancel an Israeli delegation trip to the US if it did not veto the resolution.
Text of the resolution
Voting record
* Permanent members of the Security Council are in bold.
Reactions
Nations
Israel and Palestine
* : Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu
Benjamin Netanyahu (born 21 October 1949) is an Israeli politician who has served as the prime minister of Israel since 2022, having previously held the office from 1996 to 1999 and from 2009 to 2021. Netanyahu is the longest-serving prime min ...
cancelled a delegation trip to the White House to discuss Rafah with a statement released citing "a clear retreat from the consistent US position". They also stated "today’s resolution gives Hamas hope that international pressure will force Israel to accept a ceasefire without the release of our hostages, thus harming both the war effort and the effort to release the hostages." Israel's Minister of National Security
Itamar Ben-Gvir
Itamar Ben-Gvir ( ; born 6 May 1976) is an Israeli far-right politician and lawyer who is serving as the Minister of National Security since 2025. He is the leader of Otzma Yehudit ('Jewish Power'), a Kahanist and anti-Arab party that won ...
argued that the Security Council resolution "proves that the United Nations is anti-Semitic" and that UN Secretary-General "is anti-Semitic".
Gilad Erdan
Gilad Menashe Erdan ( ; born 30 September 1970) is an Israeli politician and diplomat who served as Permanent Representative of Israel to the United Nations from 2020 through 2024.
Erdan previously served as Ambassador of Israel to the United ...
, Israel's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, called the resolution "shameless".
* : Permanent Observer to the UN Riyad Mansour welcomed the resolution whilst calling for its enforcement.
** : Hamas welcomed the resolution, stating they were ready "to engage in an immediate prisoner exchange process that leads to the release of prisoners on both sides".
Security Council members
* : Ambassador to the UN
Zhang Jun Zhang may refer to:
Chinese culture, etc.
* Zhang (surname) (張/张), common Chinese surname
** Zhang (surname 章), a rarer Chinese surname
* Zhang County (漳县), of Dingxi, Gansu
* Zhang River (漳河), a river flowing mainly in Henan
* ''Zha ...
stated, "For the millions of people in Gaza who remain mired in an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, this resolution, if fully and effectively implemented, could still bring long-awaited hope. Security Council resolutions are binding."
* : Permanent Representative
Nicolas de Rivière
Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to:
People Given name
* Nicolas (given name)
Mononym
* Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer
* Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer
Surname Nicolas
* Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...
stated, "The Security Council's silence on Gaza was becoming deafening. It is high time now for the council to finally contribute to finding a solution".
* : The Ambassador to the UN,
Vanessa Frazier
Vanessa Frazier (born 24 May 1969) is a Maltese diplomat currently serving as Permanent Representative of Malta to the United Nations.rom the non-permanent memberson a geographic situation in the council's history" and that it sent a strong message to world leaders.
* : Permanent Representative
Vasily Nebenzya
Vasily Alekseyevich Nebenzya (; born 26 February 1962) is a Russian diplomat and the current Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations. His official title is Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary.
Life and career
Nebenzya ...
stated, "We believe it is fundamentally important to vote in favour of peace. The council must continue to work on achieving a permanent ceasefire".
* : The
Federal Council
Federal Council may refer to:
Governmental bodies
* Federal Council of Australasia, a forerunner to the current Commonwealth of Australia
* Federal Council of Austria, the upper house of the Austrian federal parliament
* Federal Council of German ...
stated in a press release that the resolution "responds to the most urgent needs on the ground and must be implemented immediately". It also highlighted how the "decision by the Council underlines the weight of the non-permanent members of the Council".
* : At a regular briefing,
foreign ministry
In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral re ...
spokesman Lim Soo-seok said, "We hope that the UNSC resolution will lead to a ceasefire agreement, the release of all hostages and a surge in humanitarian aid." A foreign ministry official said the resolution must be respected and "faithfully implemented as it reflects the consensus of the international community".
* : Permanent Representative
Linda Thomas-Greenfield
Linda Thomas-Greenfield (born November 22, 1952) is an American diplomat who served as the 31st United States Ambassador to the United Nations, United States ambassador to the United Nations under President Joe Biden from 2021 to 2025. She serve ...
thanked members for adding some of the US edits, but also stated the lack of condemnation of Hamas meant it could not support the resolution. She further demanded of the Security Council to link the release of all hostages to any ceasefire, characterizing the resolution as "non-binding". The US State Department noted that the US abstention did not indicate a change in US policy, and also stated that the US saw the ceasefire resolution as nonbinding.
Other nations
* : Foreign Minister
Penny Wong
Penelope Ying-Yen Wong (born 5 November 1968) is an Australian politician who is serving as the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Leader of the Government in the Senate in the Albanese government since 2022. A member of the Australian Labor Pa ...
stated "all parties to the conflict must comply" with the resolution.
* : President
Gustavo Petro
Gustavo Francisco Petro Urrego (; born 19 April 1960) is a Colombian politician who is the 34th and current president of Colombia since 2022. Upon inauguration, he became the Pink tide, first left-wing president in the History of Colombia, recen ...
called on the international community to break diplomatic ties with Israel if it did not comply with the resolution.
* : The Foreign Ministry spokesman stated, "A more important step than adopting this resolution would be effective action to implement it".
* : Foreign Minister
Ayman Safadi
Ayman Safadi (Arabic: أيمن الصفدي ''ʾAyman Aṣ-ṣafadī''; born 15 January 1962) is a Jordanian politician who is Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs.
Safadi is a member of the Jordanian Druze community.
Biograph ...
stated that the "reaction by the Israeli government reflects the disdain with which it holds international law".
* : Prime Minister
Najib Mikati
Najib Azmi Mikati (born 24 November 1955) is a Lebanese politician and businessman who served as the 52nd prime minister of Lebanon from 2021 to 2025. He previously served in this post as the 48th and 45th prime minister from 2011 to 2014 and i ...
called the resolution, "A first step on the path to stopping the Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip".
* : The Foreign Ministry stated, "The ministry stresses the importance of committing to implementing the resolution, especially the ceasefire, and allowing humanitarian aid urgently and without obstacles into the entire Gaza Strip".
* : The
Department of International Relations and Cooperation
The Department of International Relations and Cooperation (DIRCO) is the foreign ministry of the South African government. It is responsible for South Africa's relationships with foreign countries and international organizations, and runs South ...
stated, "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".
* : Prime Minister
Pedro Sánchez
Pedro Sánchez Pérez-Castejón (; born 29 February 1972) is a Spanish politician who has served as Prime Minister of Spain since 2018. He has also been Secretary-General of the Spanish Socialist Workers' Party (PSOE) since July 2017, having p ...
said it was "imperative that the resolution be implemented and humanitarian aid access be allowed" into Gaza.
* : The Foreign Affairs spokesman stated, "We hope that Israel will comply with the requirements of this resolution without delay".
Ceasefire negotiations
Israel claimed that the rejection of a ceasefire proposal by Hamas was due to the passing of 2728, with Netanyahu stating the Hamas response was a "sad testament to the damage caused by the UN Security Council". The Israeli team at Doha was also recalled. The US rejected the assertions describing them as "inaccurate in almost every respect".
Other
Responding to the passing of the resolution,
Secretary-General
Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, Power (social and political), power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the org ...
António Guterres
António Manuel de Oliveira Guterres (born 30 April 1949) is a Portuguese politician and diplomat who is serving as the ninth and current secretary-general of the United Nations since 2017. A member of the Socialist Party (Portugal), ...
expressed his desire for implementation, posting that "failure would be unforgivable". In a statement,
Doctors Without Borders
Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to:
Titles and occupations
* Physician, a medical practitioner
* Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree
** Doctorate
** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...
said, "Council members must ensure that the ceasefire is put into action immediately and doesn’t end up being merely words on paper." The head of
Amnesty International
Amnesty International (also referred to as Amnesty or AI) is an international non-governmental organization focused on human rights, with its headquarters in the United Kingdom. The organization says that it has more than ten million members a ...
stated the Resolution must be "implemented immediately". The Israel-Palestine director of
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights Watch (HRW) is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Headquartered in New York City, the group investigates and reports on issues including War crime, war crimes, crim ...
stated, "States should use all forms of leverage – including imposing arms embargo and targeted sanctions on Israel – to press it to comply. The lives of millions of Palestinians hang in the balance." The president of the European Commission
Ursula von der Leyen
Ursula Gertrud von der Leyen (; ; born 8 October 1958) is a German politician, serving as president of the European Commission since 2019. She served in the Cabinet of Germany, German federal government between 2005 and 2019, holding position ...
stated, "Implementation of this resolution is vital for the protection of all civilians".
Compliance
Ceasefire
The day following the passage of the resolution, journalist
Hind Khoudary
Hind Osama Al-Khoudary (Arabic: هند خضري) is a Palestinian journalist based in the Gaza Strip. She has reported for multiple media outlets including Al Jazeera English and Anadolu Agency.
Early life and education
Khoudary was born in ...
reported that the resolution was not honored. Imran Khan, a journalist, wrote, "Israel has a very long history of simply ignoring UN resolutions". On 27 March, James Elder, a spokesperson for
UNICEF
UNICEF ( ), originally the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund, officially United Nations Children's Fund since 1953, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Development a ...
, stated, "There was so much hope in Gaza after Monday’s call for a ceasefire. That hope, night after night, is being drowned out by bombs".
Benny Gantz
Benjamin Gantz ( ; born 9 June 1959) is an Israeli politician and retired army general. He served as a Minister without portfolio#Israel, minister without portfolio from 2023 to 2024, as the Ministry of Defense (Israel), minister of defense bet ...
, a member of the Israeli war cabinet, stated the resolution had "no operational significance". Robert A. Wood, a U.S. diplomat, stated, "The Israelis saw that resolution, they didn’t like it."
Christos Christou
Christos Christou is a Greek physician who is the international president of Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF).
Christou is from Greece where he studied medicine before working as a doctor in the United Kingdom. He joine ...
, the international president of
Doctors Without Borders
Doctor, Doctors, The Doctor or The Doctors may refer to:
Titles and occupations
* Physician, a medical practitioner
* Doctor (title), an academic title for the holder of a doctoral-level degree
** Doctorate
** List of doctoral degrees awarded ...
, "We haven’t seen any change after this resolution on the ground".
Hostages
Regarding the second demand in operative paragraph 1 of the resolution, on 27 March
Khaled Mashaal
Khaled Mashal (, ; born 28 May 1956) is a Palestinian politician who served as the second chairman of the Hamas Political Bureau from 1996 until May 2017, when he was succeeded by Ismail Haniyeh. He has also covered duties as the acting lead ...
, the former head of Hamas's politburo, said that the hostages would remain captive until Israel halts hostilities, withdraws its troops, allows displaced civilians to return and ends its blockade of the Gaza Strip.
See also
*
List of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2701 to 2800
This is a list of United Nations Security Council Resolutions 2701 to 2800 adopted between 19 October 2023 to present day.
See also
* Lists of United Nations Security Council resolutions
United Nations Security Council resolutions are Uni ...