COLUMBUS, Ohio — Columbus City Council passed a resolution Monday evening calling for peace and an end to hostilities in Gaza.
The resolution, which passed unanimously, also called for the release of hostages and detainees.
Before calling for a vote, Council President Shannon Hardin said this resolution is the right thing to do.
"I know some would have us to do nothing. But I must recognize the pain that our community is experiencing. This resolution is not adding to our community's division," Hardin said.
Council's resolution comes on the same day as the United Nations Security Council issued its first demand for a cease-fire in Gaza.
The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel from Gaza on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 men, women and children hostage.
Since then, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed its war in Gaza, in which at least 30,000 Palestinians have died, will continue until "total victory" against Hamas.
While council's resolution condemned Hamas' attack, the executive director for JewishColumbus, Julie Tilson Stanley, said she asked council to implore the "full complexity of the situation."
Mazen Rasoul, a Palestinian-American attorney living in Columbus, said the resolution failed to address Israel's actions for the past six months, but called the measure a starting point.
"I hope that this is a starting point for the city council and elected officials to start humanizing Palestinians and end this ongoing campaign of de-humanization," Rasoul said.
The full resolution can be read here.