A draft resolution urging an immediate ceasefire in Gaza is scheduled for a vote by the UN General Assembly. Among other things, the resolution demands “an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” and “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” The resolution also calls for “immediate access” to substantial humanitarian aid for Gaza’s people, especially in the heavily blockaded northern area, even if it is not legally obligatory. In light of the present Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, it is important to remember that the United States earlier rejected a UN Security Council resolution urging a ceasefire in Gaza, blaming other council members for cynically rejecting attempts to reach an agreement.
UN assembly debates Gaza ceasefire
A resolution that demanded the release of detainees and an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” was put forth by the ten non-permanent members and put to a vote by the 15-member council. The United States was the only permanent council member to reject the resolution, blocking it using its veto authority. Key figures on the ongoing genocide since October 7, 2023, show that “Israel” has carried out 9,905 killings in the Gaza Strip, including 7,160 attacks on Palestinian families, according to a report released by the Government Media Office in Gaza. According to the Ministry of Health, 5,444 martyrs were left from 1,410 Palestinian families alone, in which all family members, including parents and children, were killed. The office added that there are now 55,758 martyrs and missing persons overall, including 12,136 women and 17,712 children. Furthermore, 12,500 cancer patients face life-threatening situations without access to necessary care, 12,650 injured people need treatment overseas, and 3,500 toddlers are at risk of dying from hunger. With 1,059 medical professionals and 88 civil defense members martyred, the paper also described the effects on medical staff.
UN moves to address Gaza crisis
520 martyrs were found in seven mass graves that “Israel” had established within hospitals. After 87,000 tons of explosives were dumped on the strip, 160,500 homes, 212 shelters and displacement centers, and 211 government offices were destroyed, adding to the devastation created by the occupation. It calls for “an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” and “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.” The resolution, which was approved by a vote of 158-9 with 13 abstentions, is similar to a language that Washington vetoed in the Security Council last month. In order to defend its ally Israel, which has been at war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip since the Palestinian terrorist group’s October 7, 2023 offensive, Washington used its veto authority on the Council at that time, as it has done in the past. Since Hamas has no motivation to free those in captivity, it has pushed the idea of making a truce conditional on the release of all prisoners in Gaza.
UN vote looms on Gaza conflict
Robert Wood, the deputy US ambassador, reiterated that stance on Wednesday, stating that adopting the document would be “shameful and wrong.” “The resolutions before the assembly today are beyond logic,” stated Danny Danon, Israel’s UN representative, before the vote. Today’s vote is not a compassionate one. The vote is one of complicity. The Security Council, which has been mostly stalled on contentious matters like Gaza and Ukraine because of internal politics, frequently finds itself taking up measures that the General Assembly cannot pass. This time is no exception. The non-binding resolution calls for “immediate access” to extensive humanitarian relief for Gaza’s residents, particularly in the region’s embattled north. Before the voting, dozens of UN delegates spoke to the Assembly to express their solidarity with the Palestinians. “Gaza is no longer in existence. Samuel Zbogar, Slovenia’s UN representative, declared, “It is destroyed.” “History is the harshest critic of inaction.”
Gaza ceasefire awaits UN approval
According to official statistics, 1,208 persons, primarily civilians, were killed in Hamas’ October 2023 offensive in southern Israel. Hostages who passed away or were killed while being detained in Gaza are included in that number. Of the 251 captives taken by militants, 96 are still in Gaza, including 34 who the Israeli military claims are dead. According to the United Nations, a reliable health ministry administered by Hamas, Israel’s military onslaught in Gaza has killed at least 44,805 Palestinians, most of them civilians. Following the decision on Wednesday, he stated that “we will keep knocking on the doors of the Security Council and the General Assembly until we see an immediate and unconditional ceasefire put in place.” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is urged by the Gaza resolution to offer “proposals on how the United Nations could help to advance accountability” by utilizing current procedures or developing new ones in light of prior experiences.
