UN Votes for Gaza Cease-fire; US Abstains

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UN Votes for Gaza Cease-fire; US Abstains
January 09, 2009
Chicago Tribune

JERUSALEM -- As dozens of bodies were pulled from the rubble of shelled houses in the Gaza Strip on Thursday, Israel faced a growing confrontation with aid groups alarmed by the toll of its offensive against Hamas, and the UN called for an end to hostilities.

By a vote of 14-0 with the U.S. abstaining, the UN Security Council approved a resolution late Thursday calling for an immediate and durable cease-fire. The text was worked out over three days between several Arab and Western nations.

But an end to the fighting was still up to Israel and Hamas, and the terms of a long-term truce still need to be hammered out.

In Gaza, a United Nations aid agency suspended operations, saying its staff was at risk from Israeli fire, and the International Committee of the Red Cross demanded round-the-clock access to wounded Palestinians trapped in the fighting, accusing the military of refusing passage to ambulances.

Under international pressure to ease its bombardments, Israel for the second day halted attacks for three hours to enable Gazans to stock up on basic supplies and to let medics collect the dead and wounded.


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