The United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and endorsing the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, which Israel bans.
The 193-nation world body voted 158-9, with 13 abstentions to demand a cease-fire, and 159-9 with 11 abstentions in support of the agency known as UNRWA.
The votes capped two days of speeches overwhelmingly demanding an end to the 14-month war between Israel and the militant Hamas group and access to all of Gaza to address the growing humanitarian crisis.
Israel and its closest ally, the United States, were speaking in a small minority and voting against the resolutions. Other opponents to both resolutions were Argentina, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Tonga.
While Security Council resolutions are legally binding, General Assembly resolutions are not, although they reflect world opinion. There is no veto in the assembly.
Palestinians and their supporters marched on the General Assembly after the US vetoed a Security Council resolution demanding a Gaza ceasefire on November 20. It was supported by 14 other members of the council, but the US objected, saying it was unrelated to the immediate release of hostages by Hamas militants when they attacked Israel on October 7, 2023.
Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour expressed gratitude for the overwhelming support for both resolutions on Wednesday, saying the votes “reflect the resolve and determination of the international community”.
“We will continue to knock on the doors of the Security Council and the General Assembly until we see an immediate and unconditional ceasefire and humanitarian aid being delivered to all corners of the Gaza Strip,” he said.
The language of the resolution passed by the Assembly on the Armistice mirrored the text of the resolution vetoed by the Council. It demands “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire respected by all parties”, as well as reiterating “the demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages”.
That language is much stronger than General Assembly resolutions passed on Oct. 27, 2023 — three weeks after the Hamas attack — calling for an immediate and lasting humanitarian ceasefire to end hostilities and on Dec. 12, 2023 “demanding an immediate. humanitarian ceasefire.”
The resolution passed on Wednesday also marked the first time Germany and Italy, which boycotted last December, voted in favor of a Gaza ceasefire. Their support left the United States as the only remaining member of the Group of 7 major industrialized nations.
On the humanitarian front, the resolution rejects “any attempt to starve the Palestinians” and demands immediate access to civilians to provide them with assistance essential for their survival.
The second resolution upholds the mandate of UNRWA, which was established by the General Assembly in 1949.
It condemns a law passed by Israel’s parliament on October 28 banning UNRWA’s activities in the Palestinian territories, a measure that will take effect within 90 days.
It echoes UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ statement that UNRWA is the “backbone” of all humanitarian work in Gaza and that no organization can replace it. And it reaffirms UNRWA’s need for continued “intervention operations”.
The resolution calls on the Israeli government to “comply with its international obligations, respect UNRWA’s privileges and immunities” and uphold its responsibility to facilitate the uninterrupted delivery of humanitarian aid throughout the Gaza Strip.
Israel has alleged that a dozen of UNRWA’s 13,000 workers in Gaza participated in Hamas attacks on Israel that led to the war. It recently provided the United Nations with more than 100 names of UNRWA staff it has alleged to have terrorist links.
US Deputy UN Ambassador Robert Wood reiterated US opposition to the ceasefire resolution ahead of Wednesday’s vote and criticized the Palestinians for failing to reiterate Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel.
“At a time when Hamas feels isolated because of the cease-fire in Lebanon, the draft resolution for a cease-fire in Gaza risks sending a dangerous message to Hamas that it does not need to negotiate or release hostages,” he said.
About 1,200 people were killed in the Hamas attack, most of them civilians, and another 250 were taken hostage. Gaza militants have not returned nearly 100 hostages, a third of whom are believed to be dead, and cease-fire efforts have stalled.
Israel’s retaliation has killed more than 44,000 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the local health ministry. It said that more than half of the dead were women and children, but the number did not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
Wood said the US would continue to seek a diplomatic solution to the war and called UNRWA a “critical lifeline for the Palestinian people”. But he said the UNRWA resolution contained “serious flaws” because it failed to create a path to restore trust between the UN agency and Israel – despite US efforts and US proposals.
Just before the vote, Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon accused supporters of the resolution of colluding with Hamas, which he said had “desperately infiltrated” UNRWA, and condemned the failure to link the ceasefire to the release of hostages.
“By demanding a cease-fire today without addressing the hostages, this Assembly will once again side with those who weaponize human suffering,” Danone said. “It will send a message that the lives of innocent Israelis, including children, are not worth your consideration.”
“This is not diplomacy,” he insisted. “It’s satisfaction. It is enabling terror and abandoning the innocent.”
Samuel Zabogar, Slovenia’s UN ambassador, echoed the views of many speakers, pointing to the tens of thousands killed in Gaza.
“Gaza no longer exists,” he told the assembly on Wednesday. “It has been destroyed. Citizens are facing hunger, despair and death.”