Israel's foreign minister says UN ceasefire vote helps Hamas

The UN Security Council's demand for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza has strengthened the Palestinian militant Hamas movement and prompted it to reject a US compromise proposal on a new hostage deal, Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said on Tuesday.

Katz, speaking to Israeli Army Radio, said he was disappointed that the United States had not vetoed the resolution.

"We expect friends to strengthen us in these difficult times and not weaken us against Hamas and all the other enemies," Katz said. The US should veto "any decision that does not strongly condemn the terrible massacre and sexual crimes committed by Hamas against babies, women, girls and the elderly" on October 7, he added.

In a resolution binding under international law, the UN Security Council called for an "immediate ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip on Monday for the first time since the start of the war. In addition, the most powerful body of the United Nations is demanding the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas.

Prior to this, Israeli negotiators had accepted a compromise proposal from US mediators in the Qatari capital Doha and hoped Hamas would agree.

Following the UN Security Council's decision, however, Hamas announced that it was insisting on its demand for a comprehensive ceasefire, including a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.

This proves that the resolution has played into the hands of Hamas, said Katz. The Islamist terrorist organization was counting on Israel being stopped by the international community without Hamas having to make any concessions, he said. The decision led to a hardening of the Hamas position on releasing hostages, he added.

"The vote yesterday was a mistake, morally and practically," said Katz. Hamas had "received the message that it doesn't have to hurry, there is another way." However, Israel will continue its military operation in the Gaza Strip unperturbed, including the offensive in the city of Rafah in the south of the coastal strip.

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, who met Katz on Tuesday, welcomed the appeal by the international community for a ceasefire as long overdue. The call for the release of all hostages in Gaza and for more aid for the suffering civilian population was also important, she said.