The United Nations Votes to Call for a Humanitarian Ceasefire in Gaza – with the United States and Israel Refusing

In an official vote, the United Nations General Assembly has formally called for a humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war on Tuesday after a majority of member states voted in favor of a non-binding resolution – just days after the United States blocked a binding ceasefire resolution from passing in the UN Security Council.

Key Facts

In a meeting of the General Assembly, 153 member states voted to adopt a resolution “demanding a humanitarian ceasefire, the protection of civilians, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and humanitarian access.” Ten member states – including the United States and Israel – voted against the resolution and 23 countries abstained from voting. The resolution is not legally binding, but the message is “very important” and represents the opinion of the global public, according to a UN spokesman, according to the Associated Press.

Main Background

For weeks, UN members have called for a ceasefire, although the decision made by the organization on Tuesday made the organization’s appeal official. Since Hamas attacked Israel on October 7 and took approximately 240 people hostage, Israel and Hamas have been in almost continuous conflict. The two parties agreed to a temporary ceasefire at the end of November, which led to a six-day halt in fighting in exchange for the daily release of hostages – women and children – from Hamas and the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israel, although the temporary truce ended after Israel accused Hamas of violating the agreement by not releasing all female hostages.

Big Numbers

18,000. This is the number of people who have died in Gaza, as of Tuesday, since the war began, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health. In Israel, around 1,200 people have died, the majority of whom were killed in the initial attack in October that started the war, according to a CBS report.

For more information:

– Reuters: UN General Assembly prepares to call for ceasefire in Gaza

– AP News: UN General Assembly overwhelmingly votes to call for humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza

– NBC News: The U.S. and Israel increasingly isolated amid growing ceasefire calls

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/mollybohannon/2023/12/12/united-nations-votes-to-call-for-humanitarian-cease-fire-in-gaza-with-us-and-israel-voting-no/