Israel-Hamas war: UNGA overwhelmingly votes for humanitarian ceasefire

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has voted in favour of a humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian militant group.

The vote in the 193-member body occurred on Tuesday and had 153 members in favour, 10 against, and 23 abstentions.

After the final votes were displayed, ambassadors and other diplomats applauded — an indication of growing global support for ending the Israel-Hamas war which has been raging for over two months.

The United States and Israel, however, opposed the resolution and were joined by Austria, Czechia, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay.

The US is believed to be the only entity capable of persuading Israel to accept a ceasefire as its closest ally and biggest supplier of weaponry.

But in a rare condemnation of Israel, US President Joe Biden told donors during a fundraising event for his 2024 re-election campaign, just before the UNGA vote took place, that Israel was losing international support because of its “indiscriminate bombing” in Gaza.

The UNGA vote was prompted after the US vetoed a resolution in the security council last Friday demanding a humanitarian ceasefire.

Although the UNGA’s vote, unlike the security council’s, are not legally binding, they hold political weight and reflect a global view on the war.

Dennis Francis, UNGA’s president who chaired the meeting, said the world is witnessing “an onslaught on civilians, the breakdown of humanitarian systems, and profound disrespect for both international law and international humanitarian law”.

Francis said civilians should never undergo the level of suffering in Gaza and called for the carnage to stop.

Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, hailed the body’s resolution, saying it is a collective duty to end “this aggression against our people”.

Gilad Erdan, Israel’s UN ambassador, warned before the vote that a ceasefire “will only prolong the death and destruction in the region” and will be “a death sentence for countless more Israelis and Gazans”.

Israel has vowed to annihilate Hamas in retaliation for the October 7 attack by the militants that Israel said killed 1,200 people and saw 240 people taken hostage.

Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry said so far, 18,205 Palestinians have been killed and nearly 50,000 wounded in the war.