UN General Assembly Votes To Demand Immediate Gaza Ceasefire

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has voted to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in war-torn Gaza, in a rebuke to the US which has repeatedly blocked ceasefire calls in the UN Security Council (UNSC), Caitlin Hu reported for CNN.

The aftermath of an Israeli air strike. I Photo: Wafa (Q2915969) in contract with a local company (APAimages); Wikimedia Commons

A majority of 153 nations voted for the ceasefire resolution in the UNGA’s emergency special session Tuesday, while 10 voted against and 23 abstained. While an UNGA vote is politically significant and seen as wielding moral weight, it is nonbinding, unlike a UNSC resolution.

The US last week vetoed a ceasefire resolution in the smaller Security Council, which had been approved by a majority of the powerful 15-member body. Tuesday's vote was the second attempt by the General Assembly to stop hostilities.

In October, it had called for "a humanitarian truce" in a resolution adopted with 121 votes in favor, 14 against, and 44 abstentions. Although non-binding, such resolutions are seen as a powerful measure of international opinion, analysts say, BBC News also reported.

Israel has been carrying out air strikes and a ground offensive in the Gaza Strip after a Hamas attack on Israel on 7 October in which Israeli officials say 1,200 were killed and another 240 taken hostage.

Some of the abductees were later released during a brief truce.

Tuesday’s brief resolution calls for a ceasefire, for all parties to comply with international law, and for humanitarian access to hostages as well as their “immediate and unconditional” release. It notably contains stronger language than an October vote in the assembly that had called for a “sustained humanitarian truce.”

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