UN General Assembly passes resolution calling for Gaza ceasefire

The United Nations on Tuesday passed a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Hamas after more than three-quarters of the 193-member General Assembly, including the UAE, backed the move.

The US vetoed the resolution in the Security Council a week earlier. It does not have veto power in the General Assembly, but did vote against the non-binding resolution along with Israel and eight other countries.

The UAE alongside 152 countries voted in favour, with 23 abstentions.

Palestinian UN envoy, Riyad Mansour, described the General Assembly vote as a culmination of public sentiment. He referred to pro-Palestinian protests around the world, saying the United States could not continue "to ignore this massive power".

تجلي واضح لموقف السواد الأعظم من دول العالم المطالب بوقف فوري إنساني لإطلاق النار في قطاع غزة.

انضمت دولة الإمارات اليوم إلى 152 دولة أخرى صوتت لصالح اعتماد قرار الجمعية العامة، الذي قدمته جمهورية مصر العربية بإسم المجموعة العربية وبدعم منظمة التعاون الإسلامي.

يجب وقف هذه… https://t.co/qvOaUEGYa7

— UAE Mission to the UN (@UAEMissionToUN) December 13, 2023

"It is our collective duty to continue on this path until we see an end to this aggression against our people, to see this war stopping against our people. It is our duty to save lives," he told reporters, with Arab ambassadors standing alongside him.

Before the UN vote, US President Joe Biden told a fundraising event for his 2024 re-election campaign that Israel was losing international support because of its "indiscriminate bombing"

Israel has bombarded Gaza from the air, imposed a blockade and launched a ground offensive in response to the Hamas attack on October 7, which Israel says killed 1,200 people and saw 240 people taken hostage. Gaza's Ministry of Health says 18,205 Palestinians were killed and nearly 50,000 injured.

General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry political weight, reflecting a global view on the war. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has long called for a humanitarian ceasefire and last week took the rare step of warning the Security Council of the global threat posed by the war.

US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, told the General Assembly before the vote that there were aspects of the resolution that the United States supports, such as the need to urgently address the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, protect civilians, and release 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."

The General Assembly resolution also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and that the warring parties comply with international law, specifically with regard to the protection of civilians.

The United States sought to amend the text to include the rejection and condemnation of “the heinous terrorist attacks launched by Hamas... and the taking of hostages”. Austria also tried to add an amendment that includes phrasing on the hostages held by Hamas, but both attempts failed to obtain a two-thirds majority needed to pass.

Pakistan's Ambassador to the UN, Munir Akram, argued against both the opposed amendments naming Hamas, saying that any blame "has to be placed on both parties, especially on Israel."

"When you deny people freedom and dignity, when you humiliate and trap them in an open air prison, where you kill them as if they were beasts - they become very angry and they do to others what was done to them," he told the General Assembly.

Most of Gaza's 2.3 million people have driven from their homes, and the United Nations has issued dire warnings about the humanitarian situation in the coastal enclave, saying hundreds of thousands of people are starving.

The United States and Israel oppose the ceasefire because they believe it will only benefit Hamas. Instead, Washington supports pauses to protect civilians and allow the release of hostages taken by Palestinian militants in the October 7 attack on Israel.

A seven-day pause ended on December 1, during which Hamas released some hostages, Israel released some Palestinians from prisons, and there was an increase in much-needed humanitarian aid in Gaza.