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The U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday overwhelmingly voted in favor of a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza. The nonbinding resolution, introduced by Egypt, also called for the unconditional release of hostages and for the besieged enclave to have access to aid.
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With 153 votes in favor, the resolution passed with more votes than a similar measure in late October, which drew a nod from 121 countries. The United States and Israel were among the 10 countries that voted against it on Tuesday, while 23 abstained.
Osama Abdelkhalek, Egypt’s ambassador to the United Nations, said the resolution was the “only guarantee for saving innocent civilians.” He added that there was a “despicable” case of double standards related to Palestinians when it came to a minority of countries standing against “international public opinion” and basing their stance on the concept that Israel has a right to defend itself.
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Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, urged members to vote against the resolution, saying a cease-fire would mean “the survival of Hamas.”
U.S. more isolated on Israel as Gaza crisis deepens, need for aid grows
Which countries voted against the resolution?
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that although the United States agreed with some aspects of the latest resolution, it failed to condemn the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, in which at least 1,200 people were killed in Israel and more than 200 hostages were taken. “Why is that so hard?” she asked.
“We agree that the humanitarian situation is dire, that it requires urgent and sustained attention,” she said, adding that civilians must be protected as mandated under international humanitarian law.
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The week-long pause in fighting and release of dozens of hostages, Thomas-Greenfield said, was the result of U.S. diplomacy.
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The United States is increasingly isolated on Israel, with other governments responding to a shift in public sentiment on the conflict as the death toll in Gaza rises past 18,400 people, including thousands of children, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Speaking at a fundraiser in Washington on Tuesday, President Biden said that “the indiscriminate bombing that takes place” was beginning to cost Israel support around the world.
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Countries that voted against the resolution: Austria, Czech Republic, Guatemala, Israel, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, United States.
Which countries abstained?
U.S. allies Britain — which has abstained from voting on previous Gaza resolutions at the General Assembly and U.N. Security Council — and Germany were among the 23 countries that abstained.
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Ukraine, whose president, Volodymyr Zelensky, forcefully supported Israel in the aftermath of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack, also abstained from the latest vote.
Countries that abstained: Argentina, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Malawi, Marshall Islands, Netherlands, Palau, Panama, Romania, Slovakia, South Sudan, Togo, Tonga, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay.
Which countries voted in favor?
Tuesday’s resolution for a cease-fire in Gaza received 153 votes. Prominent U.S. allies — including Canada, Australia and Japan, which had previously abstained — were among the more than 30 countries that switched their position.
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Multiple Asian countries that had abstained in October, including India and South Korea, voted in favor of the latest resolution. Muslim and Arab nations, which have denounced the Israeli offensive in Gaza, also supported it.
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South American nations such as Bolivia, which cut diplomatic ties with Israel over the war in Gaza, and Chile and Colombia, which recalled their ambassadors, voted in favor of a cease-fire.
Countries that voted for the resolution: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua-Barbuda, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Burundi, Cambodia, Canada, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, C？te d’Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, East Timor, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea, North Macedonia, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Congo, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Trinidad-Tobago, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Turkey, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Israel-Gaza war President Biden offered sharp criticism of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s management of the war on Hamas in Gaza, suggesting that Israel’s closest ally and biggest donor is souring on a campaign that has killed thousands of Palestinians and sparked a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Meanwhile, the U.N. General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for the second time to demand a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.
Hostages: More than 100 hostages held in the Gaza Strip have been released. Here’s what we know about the hostages released by Hamas so far.
Oct. 7 attack: Hamas spent more than a year planning its historic assault on Israel. A Washington Post video analysis shows how Hamas exploited vulnerabilities created by Israel’s reliance on technology at the “Iron Wall,” the security barrier around the Gaza Strip, to carry out the deadliest attack in Israel’s history. Traders earned millions of dollars anticipating the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, a study found.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip has a complicated history. Understand what’s behind the Israel-Gaza war and see the history of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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