A senior Hamas official has said the terrorist group accepts a U.N. Security Council cease-fire resolution adopted on Monday that would bring a truce to fighting in Gaza.

Sami Abu Zuhri confirmed the militant group’s decision to Reuters on Tuesday, saying Hamas is ready to negotiate over the details, adding that it was up to Washington to ensure that Israel abides by it.

"The U.S. administration is facing a real test to carry out its commitments in compelling the occupation to immediately end the war in an implementation of the U.N. Security Council resolution," Abu Zuhri told the publication.

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Osama Hamdan, another senior Hamas leader, echoed calls for a permanent cease-fire and said the group is ready for a fair prisoner exchange deal, but he said the U.N. resolution has flaws and that Secretary of State Antony Blinken "is one of the obstacles to reaching an agreement because he acts solely according to 'Israel’s' wishes."

"The resolution contains points we do not accept, but its main aspects are positive," Hamdan said. "The Security Council resolution will not take effect on the ground unless the occupation agrees to it."

"The problem in the entire situation is the American stance and Blinken needs to be more precise. All disruptions were carried out by ‘Israel’ with American approval. Attempts to pressure mediators will not succeed in changing Hamas’ stance."

The U.S.-sponsored resolution calls on Hamas to accept the three-phase plan to end the eight-month-old Israeli air and ground war against Hamas that has devastated Gaza,

The resolution was approved with 14 of the 15 Security Council members voting in favor and Russia abstaining, although details about the exact nature of the plan are not clear.

Blinken was in Israel on Monday, where he urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the plan for postwar Gaza as he pushed for more international pressure on Hamas to agree to the cease-fire proposal. Netanyahu has been skeptical of the deal, saying that Israel is still committed to destroying Hamas.

In proposing the resolution on May 31, President Biden said the agreement would begin with an initial six-week cease-fire and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas in Gaza and the return of Palestinian civilians to all areas in the territory.

Phase two would see "a permanent end to hostilities, in exchange for the release of all other hostages still in Gaza, and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza."

Phase three would launch "a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza and the return of the remains of any deceased hostages still in Gaza to their families."

Blinken said at a press briefing in Tel Aviv Tuesday morning that it was "quite rare" for the U.N. Security Council to have such strong support in a proposal. When pressed by reporters, Blinken said Netanyahu would support a cease-fire if it is accepted by Hamas.

"It is on Hamas to move forward with this proposal or not," said Blinken, who also met with the families of some of the American hostages. "And it's very clear what virtually the entire international community wants to see and of course, what so many families want to see, and it's also what the people of Gaza so desperately need."

"We have the prospect of an immediate cease-fire building toward an enduring one and tremendous relief for people in Gaza, but also opening prospects for Israel to build enduring security, which is what this country needs and has wanted from day one of its existence," Blinken continued.

"Integration in the region with its neighbors. Being able also to make sure that people who have been forced from their homes in the north can return home. Building a future that provides the kind of enduring security that Israel has not enjoyed. This proposal and moving forward on it is the first step down that path and in that direction. So we want to see it come to fruition."

Blinken also said there has to be a clear political and humanitarian plan to ensure that Hamas does not regain control of Gaza, and that Israel can move forward toward more enduring security.

He said the plan would have to start with an immediate cease-fire and then negotiations would take place for an enduring one.

"The cease-fire that would take place immediately would remain in place, which is manifestly good for everyone, and then we'll have to see," Blinken said. "But you're not going to get to phase two, an enduring cease-fire, unless you start with phase one. So that's where it begins."

He said news that Hamas would agree to the plan is a "hopeful sign" but it’s not official yet from Hamas leadership.

"Everyone has said yes, except for Hamas. And if Hamas doesn't say yes, then this is clearly on them," Blinken said.

"On them in terms of a vote to continue the war in terms of the safety and well-being of hundreds of thousands, millions, of Palestinian women, children and men in Gaza. On them in terms of the safety, stability, security of Israel as well as the region as a whole."

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UN Security Council adopts a cease-fire resolution aimed at ending Israel-Hamas war in Gaza

The U.N. Security Council on Monday overwhelmingly approved its first resolution endorsing a cease-fire plan aimed at ending the eight-month war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The U.S.-sponsored resolution welcomes a cease-fire proposal announced by President Joe Biden that the United States says Israel has accepted. It calls on the militant Palestinian group Hamas to accept the three-phase plan.

The resolution — which was approved with 14 of the 15 Security Council members voting in favor and Russia abstaining — calls on Israel and Hamas “to fully implement its terms without delay and without condition.”

Whether Israel and Hamas agree to go forward with the plan remains in question, but the resolution’s strong support in the U.N.’s most powerful body puts added pressure on both parties to approve the proposal.

U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken was in Israel on Monday, where he urged Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to accept the plan for postwar Gaza as he pushed for more international pressure on Hamas to agree to the cease-fire proposal. Netanyahu has been skeptical of the deal, saying that Israel is still committed to destroying Hamas.

Hamas said it welcomed the adoption of the resolution and was ready to work with mediators in indirect negotiations with Israel to implement it. The statement was among the strongest from Hamas to date, but it stressed the group would continue its struggle against Israeli occupation and work on setting up a “fully sovereign” Palestinian state.

"Efforts are continuing to study and clarify some matters to ensure implementation by the Israeli side,” Hamas spokesperson Jihad Taha said Tuesday. He said Israel was “stalling and procrastinating and creating obstacles in order to continue the aggression.”

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A senior Israeli diplomat did not directly mention the resolution, telling the council Israel’s position is unwavering: “We will continue until all of the hostages are returned and until Hamas’ military and governing capabilities are dismantled.”

“This also means that Israel will not engage in meaningless and endless negotiations, which can be exploited by Hamas as a means to stall for time,” Minister Counsellor Reut Shapir Ben Naftaly said.

U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield reiterated, however, that Israel has accepted the cease-fire deal, which is supported by countries around the world.

The resolution’s adoption, she said, “sent a clear message to Hamas to accept the cease-fire deal on the table.”

“The fighting could stop today, if Hamas would do the same,” Thomas-Greenfield told the council. “I repeat, this fighting could stop today.”

U.S. deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters earlier on Monday that the United States sees the deal as “the best, most realistic opportunity to bring at least a temporary halt to this war.”

Earlier Monday, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders met in Qatar to discuss the proposed cease-fire deal and said later that any deal must lead to a permanent cease-fire, a full Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, reconstruction and “a serious exchange deal” between hostages in Gaza and Palestinians held in Israeli jails.

Russia’s U.N. Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow abstained because details of the three-phase plan haven’t been disclosed and “we have a whole host of questions.”

“Hamas is called upon to accept this so-called deal, but still there is no clear clarity regarding official agreement from Israel," Nebenzia said. ”Given the many statements from Israel on the extension of the war until Hamas is completely defeated ... what specifically has Israel agreed to?"

Algeria's U.N. Ambassador Amar Bendjama, the Arab representative on the council, said that while the text isn't perfect, “it offers a glimmer of hope to the Palestinians, as the alternative is (the) continuing killing and suffering of the Palestinian people.”

“We voted for this text to give diplomacy a chance to reach an agreement that will end the aggression against the Palestinian people that has lasted far too long,” Bendjama said.

The war was sparked by Hamas’ surprise Oct. 7 attack in southern Israel in which militants killed about 1,200 people, mainly Israeli civilians, and took about 250 others hostage. About 120 hostages remain, with 43 pronounced dead.

Israel’s military offensive has killed more than 36,700 Palestinians and wounded more than 83,000 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. It has also destroyed about 80% of Gaza’s buildings, according to the U.N.

The Security Council adopted a resolution on March 25 demanding a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, with the U.S. abstaining, but there was no halt to the war.

Monday's resolution underscores “the importance of the ongoing diplomatic efforts by Egypt, Qatar and the United States aimed at reaching a comprehensive cease-fire deal, consisting of three phases” and says the three countries are ready “to work to ensure negotiations keep going until all the agreements are reached.”

Biden’s May 31 announcement of the new proposal said it would begin with an initial six-week cease-fire and the release of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners, the withdrawal of Israeli forces from populated areas in Gaza and the return of Palestinian civilians to all areas in the territory.

Phase one also requires the safe distribution of humanitarian assistance “at scale throughout the Gaza Strip,” which Biden said would lead to 600 trucks with aid entering Gaza every day.

In phase two, the resolution says that with the agreement of Israel and Hamas, “a permanent end to hostilities, in exchange for the release of all other hostages still in Gaza, and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza” will take place.

Phase three would launch “a major multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza and the return of the remains of any deceased hostages still in Gaza to their families.”

The resolution reiterates the Security Council’s “unwavering commitment to achieving the vision of a negotiated two-state solution where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace within secure and recognized borders.”

It also stresses “the importance of unifying the Gaza Strip with the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority,” something Netanyahu’s right-wing government has not agreed to.

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