Although the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution on Monday demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, it remains to be seen whether this will have a concrete effect on the war or just a political statement.
The measure, Resolution 2728, followed three previous attempts that the United States had blocked. It was adopted by fourteen votes, after the United States abstained and did not use its veto.
The resolution also calls for the unconditional release of all hostages and an end to barriers to humanitarian assistance.
The Israeli government has condemned the vote, and early indications are that the UN’s actions on the ground have done little to change or boost diplomatic progress.
Days after the vote, here’s what changed and what could happen next:
Did the resolution affect the fight?
Senior Israeli officials said they would ignore the call for a ceasefire, arguing that it was imperative to continue the war until it dismantles the military wing of Hamas, the militant group that launched the attack on Israel. October 7 led.
There has been no apparent change in the military campaign since Monday. The Israeli Air Force continues to bombard Gaza, and Hamas continues to launch attacks.
The Israeli army is pressing ahead with a raid on Al-Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, the largest medical facility in the area, and an offensive in Khan Younis, the largest city in the south, where fighting is fierce.
If Israel does not take the resolution to heart, what can the UN do?
The Security Council has few resources to implement its resolutions. The Council may take punitive measures and impose sanctions on violators. In the past, such measures have included travel bans, economic restrictions and arms embargoes.
In this case, however, legal experts said any additional measure would require a new resolution and its passage would require approval from the council’s five veto-wielding members, including the United States, Israel’s closest ally.
There may also be legal issues. While the United Nations says Security Council resolutions are considered international law, legal experts debate whether all resolutions are binding on member states, or only those adopted under Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which deals with threats to peace. The resolution adopted on Monday did not explicitly mention Chapter VII.
U.N. officials said it was still binding on Israel, but some countries disagreed. South Korea said on Monday that the resolution was not “explicitly coercive under Chapter VII” but that it reflected a consensus of the international community.
Crucially, the US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, insisted the resolution was not binding. The United States, which has significant power on the Security Council because of its permanent seat, is likely to view the resolution’s adoption as a valuable political tool rather than a binding order, experts said.
The US abstention sends a strong signal of its policy priorities, even if the Security Council is unlikely to take further action in the short term, said Ivo H. Daalder, a former US ambassador to NATO.
“Neither Israel nor Hamas will be influenced by a UN resolution,” Mr Daalder said.
What about the help?
Israel controls the flow of aid into Gaza, and after five months of war, Gazans face a serious hunger crisis bordering on famine, especially in the north, according to the United Nations and residents of the area.
Aid groups blame Israel, which announced a siege of the area after October 7. They say officials have hampered aid deliveries through inspections and severe restrictions.
Israel claims it is working to prevent aid from reaching Hamas and says its officials can process more aid than aid groups can distribute within the territory. Growing lawlessness in Gaza has also complicated aid distribution, with some convoys turning into deadly violence.
Little has changed this week. The number of aid trucks entering Gaza on Tuesday from the two border crossings open for aid roughly matched the average daily number passing through this month, according to UN data. That figure, about 150 trucks per day, is almost 70 percent less than the number before October 7.
How has the resolution affected diplomacy?
Israel and Hamas still appear far apart on negotiations aimed at halting fighting and exchanging hostages for Palestinian prisoners.
There have been mediators in Qatar to try to narrow the differences. But on Monday, Hamas rejected Israel’s latest counterproposal and its political leader said during a visit to Tehran this week that the resolution showed Israel was diplomatically isolated.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has argued that the resolution delayed negotiations, encouraging Hamas to continue pursuing better terms.
The biggest sticking point in ceasefire negotiations recently was the number of Palestinian prisoners who would be released, especially those serving longer sentences for violence against Israelis, US and Israeli officials say.