It was a largely symbolic vote, but one that illustrates the divisions in the international community as the war in the Gaza Strip escalates. The UN General Assembly on Friday night overwhelmingly called for an "immediate humanitarian truce" on the 21st day of the war between Hamas and Israel, which denounced it as "infamy" as its army announced it was "expanding" its ground operations in Gaza. After four failures in ten days for the Security Council to act, the General Assembly has taken over this issue, which has highlighted divisions, particularly among the West.
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While we are witnessing a ground invasion of Israel as we speak, and in the absence of determined action by the Security Council, (the resolution) has a simple but vital objective, in line with the raison d'être of the United Nations: peace," said Jordanian Ambassador Mahmoud Daifallah Hmoud, whose country drafted the text on behalf of the group of 22 Arab countries. The non-binding resolution, which "calls for an immediate, lasting and sustained humanitarian truce, leading to the cessation of hostilities," garnered 120 votes in favor, 14 against (including Israel and the United States), and 45 abstentions, out of the 193 members of the United Nations, to applause.
"Enough is enough, this war must end"
Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour erupted in joy, thanking the General Assembly for its "courage" in saying "enough is enough, this war must stop, the carnage against our people must stop." Also welcoming the resolution, Hamas called in a statement for "its immediate implementation in order to allow the provision of fuel and humanitarian aid to civilians." The war between Israel and Hamas was sparked by the unprecedented attack by the Palestinian Islamist movement on October 7 on Israeli soil from the Gaza Strip.
In retaliation, the Israeli army has since relentlessly bombed Hamas-controlled territory, where some 2.4 million Palestinians are crammed. And it announced on Friday night that it was "expanding" its ground operations there. The resolution adopted on Friday focuses largely on the humanitarian situation in Gaza, calling for the "immediate" provision of water, food, fuel, electricity, and "unimpeded" access for aid. The General Assembly also condemns "all acts of violence directed against Palestinian and Israeli civilians, including all acts of terrorism and indiscriminate attacks", and expresses its "deep concern at the latest escalation of violence since the attack of 7 October", but without mentioning Hamas.
Read alsoIsraeli army's "extensive" ground offensive in Gaza: "The bulk of the troops have not yet arrived"
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Shame on you!" said Israel's ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan, calling the resolution a "disgrace." "This is a dark day for the UN and for humanity," he added, vowing that Israel would continue to use "all means" at its disposal to "rid the world of the evil that Hamas represents." The United States, which had also denounced the absence of the words "Hamas" and "hostages" in the text, unsurprisingly voted against it. The United Kingdom abstained. A Canadian amendment to "categorically condemn the Hamas terror attacks" of October 7 and call for the "immediate and unconditional release" of the hostages was rejected, receiving 88 votes in favour, 55 against and 23 abstentions (two-thirds of the votes cast were needed to pass).
France, acknowledging that "certain essential elements are missing from the text", nevertheless supported the Jordanian resolution. "Nothing can justify the suffering of civilians," insisted French Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière. But while France, Spain and Belgium voted in favour of the text, Germany, Italy and Finland abstained, while Austria, the Czech Republic and Hungary voted against. "This is a disaster for the EU's efforts to project a common position at the UN," commented Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group. More broadly, "the fact that the vote comes just as Israel promises to increase its ground operations gives the UN an image of impotence," he added.
'Breaking the deadlock'
It remains to be seen whether the Security Council will be able to regain control and finally reach an agreement. "We will use the moral authority of the General Assembly and work in the Security Council on a proposal (of the 10 non-permanent members) to try to break the deadlock," UAE Ambassador Lana Zaki Nusseibeh said.
According to Israeli authorities, more than 1,400 people, mostly civilians, were killed in Israel in the attack by Hamas commandos, who kidnapped 229 hostages, Israelis, dual nationals or foreigners. Four women have been released so far. According to Hamas, 7,326 people, mostly civilians, have been killed by the bombardment of Gaza over the past three weeks, and nearly 19,000 have been wounded.