UN General Assembly overwhelmingly demands Gaza ceasefire

153 countries back call for 'immediate humanitarian ceasefire' in Gaza
Josh Salisbury12 December 2023

The United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday night overwhelmingly demanded a ceasefire in Gaza.

The non-binding resolution for “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire” was backed by 153 member states, with 10 against and 23 abstentions.

The US was among the countries to vote against the resolution, while the UK abstained.

After the United States vetoed a resolution in the Security Council on Friday demanding a ceasefire, an emergency session of the 193-member General Assembly was called to vote on a resolution making the same demand.

Speaking before the vote, US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield said there were aspects of the motion Washington supported, such as the need to urgently address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, protect civilians and free hostages.

But she added: “Any ceasefire right now would be temporary at the best and dangerous at worst - dangerous to Israelis, who would be subject to relentless attacks, and also dangerous to Palestinians, who deserve the chance to build a better future for themselves, free from Hamas."

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters before the vote: “I think it will send a message to Washington and to others.”

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AFP via Getty Images

The motion is non-binding, but Mr Mansour said it should be treated as if it were binding.

"And Israel has to abide by it, and those who are shielding and protecting Israel until now should also look at it this way, and therefore act accordingly," Mr Mansour said.

The resolution expresses "grave concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population," and it says Palestinians and Israelis must be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law.

Israel's Permanent Representative, Gilad Erdan called the resolution “hypocritical.”

“Not only does this resolution fail to condemn Hamas for crimes against humanity, it does not mention Hamas at all. This will only prolong the death and destruction in the region, that is precisely what a ceasefire means,” he said.

Israel has bombed Gaza from the air, imposed a siege and launched a ground offensive after the October 7 terror attack by Hamas, which killed 1,200 people and saw 240 people taken hostage.

Gaza's health ministry says 18,205 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 50,000 wounded.

Most of the 2.3 million people in Gaza have been driven from their homes and international aid organisations have given dire warnings about the humanitarian situation in the coastal enclave.

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