UNGA overwhelmingly demands immediate Gaza ceasefire, backs UN agency assisting Palestinians

UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted resolutions Wednesday demanding an immediate ceasefire in war-shattered Gaza and backing the U.N. aid agency assisting Palestinian refugees that Israel is threatening to ban.

The ceasefire demand in the Pakistan-backed resolution – adopted with 158 votes in favour in the 193-member assembly – was expressed in more urgent language than one urging an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza that the body “called for” in October 2023 then “demanded” in December 2023.

General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry moral and political weight, reflecting a global view on the war. The United States, Israel and seven other countries voted against the ceasefire resolution, while 13 countries abstained.

The United Nations also threw its support behind the U.N. Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, adopting a second resolution with 159 votes in favour to deplore a new Israeli law that will ban UNRWA’s operations in Israel from late January.

“The message that it is sending is that we are with you,” Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour said after the vote. He added that it shows that Israel and its main backer, the United States, are more isolated in the international community over the Israeli war in Gaza.

Since Oct 7, 2023, Israel’s military has leveled swathes of Gaza, driving nearly all of its 2.3 million people from their homes, giving rise to deadly hunger and disease and killing more than 44,800 people, according to Palestinian health authorities.

“We cannot remain silent in the face of this abhorrent situation. We must uphold our political, humanitarian and moral obligation — I repeat — our moral obligation,” said Indonesia’s ambassador, Arrmanatha Nasir, in introducing the ceasefire proposal.

The text also demands that Palestinian civilians across Gaza be given immediate access to aid necessary for their survival. The situation is especially dire in northern Gaza, where the U.N. says between 65,000 to 75,000 Palestinians have been largely cut off from aid deliveries for the past two months. International hunger monitors say famine is imminent there.

“This organization cannot stand idly by while thousands of innocent lives are cut short,” Mexico’s ambassador, Hector Vasconcelos, said.

In a separate vote, the General Assembly expressed support for UNRWA, the embattled U.N aid agency that assists Palestinian refugees in the occupied territories and the wider Middle East.

On October 28, Israel’s parliament adopted legislation to ban the agency in Israel, potentially crippling its ability to reach millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank. The law will go into effect in January.

More than 90 countries, including Pakistan, co-sponsored the text, and 159 countries voted in favour of it, while nine voted against.

The resolution says no other agency can replace it and called on Israel “to abide by its international obligations, respect the privileges and immunities of the Agency and uphold its responsibility to allow and facilitate full, rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance in all its forms into and throughout the entire Gaza Strip.”

It also emphasizes the need for Israel to pay UNRWA reparations for the dozens of schools, health centers and other facilities the agency runs that its military has bombed during the past 14 months.

“An agency we established is under threat,” said Slovenian Ambassador Samuel Zbogar, referring to the General Assembly’s creation of UNRWA in 1949. “It is an agency acting on our behalf, on behalf of the values and principles of this organization. We need to support it.”

Norway’s envoy said her country will submit a draft resolution to the Assembly requesting the International Court of Justice to give an advisory opinion on Israel’s obligations to facilitate humanitarian assistance and other kinds of aid to the Palestinian population, delivered by the U.N., NGOs and states.

The two resolutions voted on Wednesday received the highest margin of support of any Gaza-related motions in the General Assembly since the war started 14 months ago.

The United Nations on Wednesday appealed for just over $4 billion to address the most urgent humanitarian needs in the Palestinian territories for the next year.