On Friday, the 21st day of the Israel-Hamas confrontation, the UN General Assembly, in the midst of the Israeli army’s announcement that it was expanding its ground operation into the devastated territory, called for a “immediate humanitarian truce” in Gaza by a strong majority.
The non-binding resolution garnered 120 votes in support, 14 against, and 45 abstentions from UN members. It was attacked by Israel and the US for omitting to mention Hamas.
Israel vehemently rejected the proposal and vowed to combat Hamas with “every means at our disposal”.
“Today 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,” Israeli ambassador Gilad Erdan said, telling the assembly: “Shame on you.”
“Israel will continue to defend itself. We will defend our future, our very existence by ridding the world of Hamas’s evil so that it can never threaten anyone else again,” he said.
Hamas meanwhile welcomed the call for a break in the conflict.
“We demand its immediate application to allow the entry of fuel and humanitarian aid for civilians,” said a Hamas statement.
The rival Palestinian Authority’s foreign ministry said that as Israel’s campaign “reaches a new peak of brutality,” there was “a solid international position rejecting Israel’s unhinged aggression”.
The text proposed by Jordan in the name of 22 Arab countries called for “an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities.”
An earlier version called for an “immediate ceasefire.”
Jordan’s Ambassador Mahmoud Hmoud, just before the vote, stressed that: “It is not merely our responsibility, but a profound moral obligation to champion the cause of peace.”
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 “immediate” 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 “all acts of violence aimed at Palestinian and Israeli civilians, including all acts of terrorism and indiscriminate attacks” but it does not mention Hamas.
The resolution revealed a rift within the Western world as Austria and the United States voted against it, while Germany, Italy, and Britain abstained. France supported the resolution.
“It is outrageous that this resolution fails to name the perpetrators of the October 7 terrorist attack,” US ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.
“Another key word missing in this resolution is hostage,” she added.
