The UN General Assembly votes for an 鈥渋mmediate humanitarian truce鈥� in Gaza, as the Israel-Hamas conflict raged for a 21st da at the UN in New Yorl on October 27, 2023. The nonbinding resolution, criticized by Israel and the United States for failing to mention Hamas, received 120 votes in favor, 14 against and 45 abstentions. Thousands of civilians, both Palestinians and Israelis, have died since October 7, 2023, after Palestinian Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip entered southern Israel in an unprecedented attack triggering a war declared by Israel on Hamas with retaliatory bombings on Gaza. (Photo by Andrea RENAULT / AFP)
United Nations, United States 鈥斅燭he UN General Assembly on Friday called by a large majority for an 鈥渋mmediate humanitarian truce鈥� in Gaza, on the 21st day of the Israel-Hamas conflict as the Israeli army announced it was extending its ground operation into the shattered territory.
The non-binding resolution, criticized by Israel and the United States for failing to mention Hamas, received 120 votes in favor, 14 against and 45 abstentions from UN members.
Israel angrily dismissed the measure, and said the country would use 鈥渆very means at our disposal鈥� in confronting Hamas.
鈥淭oday is a day that will go down as infamy. We have all witnessed that the UN no longer holds even one ounce of legitimacy or relevance,鈥� Israeli ambassador Gilad Erdan said, telling the assembly: 鈥淪hame on you.鈥�
鈥淚srael will continue to defend itself. We will defend our future, our very existence by ridding the world of Hamas鈥檚 evil so that it can never threaten anyone else again,鈥� he said.
Hamas meanwhile welcomed the call for a break in the conflict.
鈥淲e demand its immediate application to allow the entry of fuel and humanitarian aid for civilians,鈥� said a Hamas statement.
The rival Palestinian Authority鈥檚 foreign ministry said that as Israel鈥檚 campaign 鈥渞eaches a new peak of brutality,鈥� there was 鈥渁 solid international position rejecting Israel鈥檚 unhinged aggression鈥�.
The text proposed by Jordan in the name of 22 Arab countries called for 鈥渁n immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities.鈥�
An earlier version called for an 鈥渋mmediate ceasefire.鈥�
Jordan鈥檚 Ambassador Mahmoud Hmoud, just before the vote, stressed that: 鈥淚t is not merely our responsibility, but a profound moral obligation to champion the cause of peace.鈥�
搁贰础顿:听Israel pummels Gaza with strikes as it expands ground operations
Israel has heavily bombarded Gaza since Hamas gunmen stormed across the border on October 7, killing 1,400 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping over 220 others, according to Israeli officials.
The health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip, in an update on Friday, said the Israeli strikes had now killed 7,326 people, mainly civilians and many of them children.
The resolution co-sponsored by nearly 50 other countries centered largely on the dire humanitarian situation in sealed-off Gaza as Israel presses on with its bombardment.
The document urges 鈥渋mmediate鈥� provision of water, food, medical supplies, fuel and electricity and unhindered access for UN and other humanitarian agencies trying to help the Palestinians.
The draft condemns 鈥渁ll acts of violence aimed at Palestinian and Israeli civilians, including all acts of terrorism and indiscriminate attacks鈥� but it does not mention Hamas.
The resolution exposed a division within Western countries, with France voting for the measure; Germany, Italy and Britain abstaining; while Austria and the United States voted against.
鈥淚t is outrageous that this resolution fails to name the perpetrators of the October 7 terrorist attack,鈥� US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.
鈥淎nother key word missing in this resolution is hostage,鈥� she added.