UN Calls for Immediate Ceasefire in Gaza

Dec 13, 2023

Source: Reuters

Delegates from Egypt applaud after looking at the voting results during the meeting of the UN General Assembly on ceasefire resolution, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in New York City, U.S. on December 12, 2023. [Reuters/Eduardo Munoz]

The United Nations on Tuesday demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

The 193-member General Assembly voted on the resolution, with 153 votes in favour of it and only 10 votes against it. 23 countries abstained from the vote. The call for a humanitarian ceasefire was proposed last week at the Security Council but the resolution was vetoed by the United States. The United States does not have a veto in the General Assembly. It voted against the resolution on Tuesday along with Israel and eight other countries.

“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,” Palestinian U.N. envoy Riyad Mansour told reporters.

In a fundraising event for his 2024 re-election campaign, President Biden said that Israel was losing international support because of “indiscriminate bombing that takes place.”

Before the U.N. vote, Israel’s U.N Ambassador Gilad Erdan said: “A ceasefire means one thing and one thing only - ensuring the survival of Hamas, ensuring the survival of genocidal terrorists committed to the annihilation of Israel and Jews.”

U.N. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding but carry political weight, reflecting a global perspective on the war.

Tags: Israel Palestine War UN