The UN General Assembly voted to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, in a rebuke to the United States which has repeatedly blocked calls for a ceasefire in the UN Security Council.
A majority of 153 countries voted in favor of the ceasefire resolution in the emergency special session of the General Assembly on Tuesday, while 10 countries voted against it and 23 countries abstained from voting.
Although the vote in the General Assembly is politically significant and is seen as having moral weight, it is not binding, unlike a Security Council resolution. The United States used its veto last week against a ceasefire resolution in the mini-UN Security Council, which was approved by a majority of the powerful 15-member council.
The summary resolution issued on Tuesday calls for a ceasefire, compliance by all parties with international law, and allowing humanitarian aid to reach the hostages as well as their “immediate and unconditional” release. It contains significantly stronger language than October vote At the gathering that called for a “sustainable humanitarian truce.”
The vote, which Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour described as “historic,” comes as the war between Israel and Hamas enters its third month, and at a time when medics and relief organizations are ringing alarm bells about the humanitarian situation in besieged Gaza. The Hamas-controlled Health Ministry in the Strip said on Monday that more than 18,000 people had been killed in Gaza since the outbreak of fighting.
Israel has said it will not stop its military campaign until it eliminates the Palestinian Hamas movement that controls Gaza, following its October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,200 people and kidnapped about 240, according to Israeli authorities. It is believed that more than 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza.
Ahead of the vote on Tuesday, Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan described the resolution as a “disgraceful” attempt to tie Israel’s hands, warning that “continuing the Israeli operation in Gaza is the only way to release any hostages.”
Israel rejected previous calls for a ceasefire, although it agreed to a seven-day truce to release Israeli hostages held in Gaza.
Israel voted against The United States, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Austria, the Czech Republic, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia and Nauru participated in Tuesday’s decision.
Read more about voting at the United Nations.