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The United Nations Security Council (UN) approved on Monday a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire during the month of Ramadan, which began on March 11, a vote in which the United States abstained.
The resolution also calls for the return of some 130 hostages kidnapped in Israel and held in Gaza, and stresses the urgent need to allow widespread, life-saving aid to reach the starving population of the besieged enclave.
The text has been prepared by the 10 non-permanent members of the Council.
Demands for an end to hostilities have so far been ignored by the Council following the Israeli invasion of Gaza in October, after Hamas's attacks left nearly 1,200 dead and 240 hostages.
Since then, Israel's daily bombings, coupled with a near-total blockade of water, electricity and vital aid, have killed more than 32,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the report.