Israel-Hamas war: In a first, the European Parliament calls for a 'permanent ceasefire'

The resolution, which is purely symbolic and carries no legal weight, was approved with 312 votes in favour, 131 against and 72 abstentions in Strasbourg's plenary chamber on Thursday after a compromise was made to appease centre-right lawmakers.

The ceasefire plea represents a significant shift in the Parliament's previous position, agreed in October, which called for a humanitarian "pause" to step up the flow of aid reaching Gaza's civilians. That vote in October had passed with 500 votes in favour, 21 against and 24 abstentions.

Thursday's sharpened call comes as the Gaza death toll tops 24,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, since the start of the Israeli offensive.

While the hemicycle's left-leaning and centrist groups had openly backed the ceasefire call, members of the centre-right European People's Party (EPP), the largest group in the chamber, had expressed reservations.

An amendment specifying that the ceasefire should be conditional on the release of all hostages held in Gaza and the "dismantling" of Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation in the EU, secured the backing of EPP lawmakers.

"Sustainable peace cannot exist as long as Hamas and other terrorist groups hijack the Palestinian cause and threaten the existence of Israel, the only democracy in the region," Antonio López-Istúriz, an EPP lawmaker, said at the plenary.

Responding to the resolution, a representative of the Israeli mission to the EU told Euronews that it shows the Parliament "has an understanding of the cause of the war and the means to end it."

"We are pleased that the resolution states clearly that a ceasefire is provided upon the unconditional release of all hostages and the dismantling of the terrorist organization