The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday demanding a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.
AFP reports that the body, which includes all 193 UN member nations, voted 153 in favour of the resolution – exceeding the 140 or so countries that had routinely backed resolutions condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Ten countries including the United States and Israel voted against while 23 abstained.
Among those that voted in favour were Israel’s long-standing allies – Canada, Australia and New Zealand, whose leaders also released a rare joint statement that said, “The price of defeating Hamas cannot be the continuous suffering of all Palestinian civilians.”
The 10 countries that voted against the ceasefire include Austria, Czechia, Guatemala, Israel, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and the US.
According to a publication on the UN website, member states adopted the resolution demanding an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire,” the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and well as “ensuring humanitarian access.”
It passed with a large majority of 153 in favour and 10 against, with 23 abstentions. The resolution also reiterated the General Assembly’s demand that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, “notably with regard to the protection of civilians”.
The UN noted that prior to the resolution, two amendments making specific reference to extremist group Hamas were voted down by members.
The General Assembly will resume the emergency session on Friday afternoon in New York starting at 3 pm.
Hamas launched an unprecedented attack against Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 240 hostages, of whom 105 have been released and several killed, according to Israeli officials.
In retaliation, Israel launched an offensive in Gaza that the Hamas-run health ministry says has killed over 18,000 people, mostly women and children.
