UN General Assembly overwhelmingly backs Gaza ceasefire, puts pressure on Israel and US

• Resolution passes with 153 votes, exceeding even support for Ukraine resolutions.
• US and Israel among 10 nations opposing the non-binding resolution.
• Vote seen as a “historic day” and “powerful message” for peace.

Following the lead of the stalled Security Council, the UN General Assembly overwhelmingly endorsed a non-binding resolution on Tuesday calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, increasing pressure on Israel and the US government.

Out of the 193 UN members, the body voted 153 in favor of the resolution, outnumbering the about 140 states that have consistently supported resolutions denouncing Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.

Twenty-three nations abstained, and ten nations—including the US and Israel—voted against.

According to Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian envoy to the UN, the vote was “a historic day in terms of the powerful message that was sent from the General Assembly.”

The vote was held in response to the Security Council’s repeated failure to issue a plea for international peace and security.

The strongest friend of Israel and one of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the United States, used its veto power on Friday to block the most recent draft resolution requesting a ceasefire.

The Council did not announce its opposition to humanitarian “pauses” in the battle until mid-November, after four texts were rejected. This was more than a month after the war broke out between Israel and Hamas fighters.

Regarding Washington’s attempts to offer diplomatic cover to Israel before of the General Assembly vote, Egypt’s ambassador to the UN, Osama Mahmoud Abdelkhalek Mahmoud, stated, “These tragic attempts are a despicable sign of double standards,”

There could soon be a “complete breakdown of public order” in the besieged Gaza Strip, according to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

A number of nations and human rights groups denounced the Security Council’s failure last Friday, and on Sunday, Guterres called the Council’s legitimacy and authority “undermined.”

“We agree the humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire,” said Washington’s ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield ahead of Tuesday’s vote.

“It’s the diplomacy that the United States is engaging in on the ground that made that week-long humanitarian pause possible,” she said, referring to the only lull in the fighting so far, which took place last month.

Thomas-Greenfield pleaded with nations to support the resolution’s amended version, which was voted rejected and would have denounced Hamas.

In addition, she urged Israel “to avoid mass displacement of civilians in the south of Gaza,” despite the fact that it was pursuing “legitimate military objectives.”

Israel’s UN envoy, Gilad Erdan, denounced the resolution ahead of the vote, calling it “hypocritical.”

“Not only does it fail to condemn Hamas for its crimes against humanity — it doesn’t mention Hamas at all,” he stated.

More than two months after the horrific and unheard-of attack on Israeli soil by Hamas fighters on October 7, Israeli air and ground forces are still pounding Gaza.

Approximately 1,200 Israelis lost their lives in the initial strike, while over 18,400 Palestinians have perished as a result of Israel’s shelling, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which is managed by Hamas.

In an attempt to exert pressure following the visit of over a dozen Security Council ambassadors to the Rafah border point, Arab nations had called for the new extraordinary session of the General Assembly.

The resolution that the United States rejected in the Council on Friday was essentially replicated in the wording that was passed on Tuesday.

It “demands an immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” expresses worry for the “catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,” and asks for the “immediate and unconditional” release of all hostages in addition to the protection of civilians.

The strong allies of Israel and the United States, Australia, Canada, and New Zealand, expressed their alarm in a joint statement prior to the vote, saying that “we are alarmed at the diminishing safe space for civilians in Gaza.”

“The price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continuous suffering of all Palestinian civilians,” they stated.

Also Read

UAE: Television channels got hacked, featuring content from Gaza to give a message

Television viewers in the UAE encountered an unexpected disruption as a cyber-attack...