UN General Assembly overwhelmingly votes for Gaza ceasefire resolution amid US, Israeli opposition

There are no vetoes in the 193-member UN General Assembly, where the resolution is expected to pass overwhelmingly, but assembly resolutions are not legally binding. (Getty Images/AFP file photo)

• 149 nations vote in favor, 12 against, including Israel and the US, and 19 abstain, including India
• Experts and human rights workers say hunger is widespread in Gaza
• US describes the result as a reward for Hamas, says it does nothing to relieve the suffering of Gazans or secure release of hostages, and undermines negotiations

The UN General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly voted to adopt a draft resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and Palestinian prisoners, the unrestricted flow of aid to the starving population of the territory, and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.
The resolution was introduced by Spain in coordination with the Palestinian delegation and a bloc of more than 30 nations, including Saudi Arabia.
A total of 149 nations voted in favor of the resolution, and 12 against, including Israel and the US. Nineteen abstained, including India.
The resounding support for the measure came despite lobbying from Israel against what it described as a “politically motivated, counter-productive charade.”
Danny Danon, Israel’s permanent representative to the UN, said the resolution “rewards the terrorists responsible for the suffering of our hostages. This is not a peace proposal. It is surrender.”
General Assembly resolutions are nonbinding on member states but they carry significant moral and political weight as a reflection of prevailing global opinion.
The president of the General Assembly, Philemon Yang, opened the session by calling on member states to transform their commitment to international law and justice into “meaningful action on the ground … and end the horrors in Gaza.”
Palestine’s ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, urged the international community to take “requisite actions to end this genocide” and secure the release of the hostages. 
He said: “Israel’s blatant contempt for international law and UN resolutions must lead to resolute action, and it has to be done now.
“No arms, no money, no trade to oppress Palestinians, ethnically cleanse them and steal their land. This illegal, immoral situation cannot continue. It has to stop and stop immediately.
“We reject attacks on civilians, whether Palestinians or Israelis. Enough bloodshed, enough suffering.
“The actions you take today to stop the killing, displacement and famine will determine how many more Palestinian children die a horrific death. The actions you take today will determine if Palestinian children ever get a chance at life.”
Speaking of behalf of Gulf Cooperation Council member states, Kuwait’s permanent representative to the UN, Tarek Albanai, accused Israel of committing genocide and using starvation as a weapon of war. He called on the international community to uphold its responsibilities and “end these atrocities.”
The GCC has urged all countries to officially recognize the State of Palestine at a summit that will take place in New York next week on a two-state solution to the wider conflict between Israelis and Palestinians.
“It is high time Palestine became a full-fledged member of the UN,” Albanai said. Palestine has held the status of Permanent Observer State at the UN since 2012 but is denied full membership.
The General Assembly vote came a week after the US vetoed a similar resolution in the Security Council, arguing that it would undermine Washington-led negotiations aimed at brokering a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas. The remaining 14 members of the council members backed the resolution.
Spain’s permanent representative to the UN, Hector Gomez Hernandez, introduced the draft resolution to the General Assembly and called on the international community to send “a robust message with the regard to Gaza.”
The text of the resolution, presented under the Uniting for Peace framework during the resumption of an Emergency Special Session on Palestine, went further than previous resolutions on the issue. It included language that underscored the need for accountability to ensure Israeli compliance with the rule of international law, a provision that drew a sharp rebuke from Israel and concern from the US.
“This is both false and defamatory,” Danon said in a letter to member states this week, in which he described the draft resolution as “immensely flawed and harmful.”
He warned that its undermines hostage negotiations, and criticized its failure to condemn the Hamas attacks in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, in which 1,200 people were killed and about 250 were taken hostage.
The vote on the resolution followed stark warnings from UN agencies that famine is looming in Gaza, which is home to more than 2 million people. Israeli authorities lifted an 11-week humanitarian blockade on the enclave in mid-May but aid deliveries remain sporadic.
The text of the resolution supports a UN-coordinated plan to resume deliveries of humanitarian aid and urges all states to always protect aid workers, UN personnel and medical staff in accordance with the principles of international law.
The resolution, the text of which was seen by Arab News, explicitly states that it “strongly condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare,” and demands that Israel end its blockade on Gaza and “open all border crossings” to ensure aid reaches the Palestinian population “immediately and at scale.”
It calls on UN member states to “individually and collectively take all measures necessary,” consistent with the rule of international law and the UN Charter, to ensure Israeli compliance with its legal obligations. It also reaffirms the UN’s permanent responsibility for the Palestinian question until a two-state solution is achieved.
The vote on Thursday was the fourth on a Gaza ceasefire resolution by the General Assembly since the war in Gaza began in October 2023. The US has vetoed several ceasefire resolutions within the Security Council, even as support in the General Assembly has grown and abstentions from such votes have steadily dropped.
Dorothy Shea, the US envoy to the UN, described the Spanish-backed resolution as “yet another failure of the UN to condemn Hamas.” She said it does nothing to help free the hostages, improve lives of civilians in Gaza or move closer to a ceasefire, and instead sends message to Hamas that it was being rewarded.
“We will not support resolutions that do not call for violent terrorist groups to disarm and leave Gaza, and fail to recognize Israel’s right to defend itself,” Shea said.
“This resolution falsely accuses Israel of the use of starvation as a method of warfare, while at the same time ignoring Gaza Humanitarian Foundation efforts to cut out Hamas and deliver aid consistent with the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and independence.”
The vote took place in the run-up to a UN conference next week that aims to revive the international push for a two-state solution, which will be co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France.
The US warned that countries who back “anti-Israel actions” in connection with the conference could be seen to be opposing US foreign policy and might face diplomatic consequences.
Despite the US efforts to dissuade support for the Spanish resolution, it gathered wide sponsorship ahead of the vote. Alongside Spain, the initiators included Chile, Egypt, Iceland, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Malaysia, Norway, Qatar, Slovenia, South Africa, Turkiye and the State of Palestine. Additional sponsors, numbering more than 30, included Brazil, Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Pakistan.
Palestinian casualties during the ongoing war in Gaza have surpassed 55,000. Thousands more are believed to be dead under the rubble of countless destroyed buildings. The resolution explicitly condemns the destruction of civilian infrastructure and stresses the importance of protecting humanitarian operations and medical facilities.
It also references Security Council Resolution 2735, adopted a year ago, which outlines a US-backed road map for a phased ceasefire, hostage release, and eventual Israeli withdrawal, but has yet to be implemented.