The UN General Assembly on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.
153 countries voted in favor of the motion and 10 countries, including the United States and Israel, voted against. 23 countries abstained.
The resolution does not mention that the hostages are being held by Hamas and does not condemn the massacre carried out by the organization's terrorists against Israel.
Speaking before the vote, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, clarified, “What would your countries do if you were in Israel’s shoes? Call for a ceasefire? What would Moscow do? Beijing? Istanbul? How would you respond? Everyone here knows exactly.”
The Ambassador presented a poster with the phone number for the Hamas office in Gaza and said, “…I have an idea: if you want a real ceasefire, here is the right address. This is the phone number of Hamas’ office in Gaza. You can all call +970-599-373765 and ask for Yahya Sinwar. Tell Hamas to put down their arms, turn themselves in, and return our hostages. This will bring a complete ceasefire that will last forever! So, why are you not doing this? Why are you not holding Hamas accountable?”
Ambassador Erdan also said, “No piece of paper – especially one that is adopted by a biased politicized majority – will prevent Israel from defending itself against those that seek our destruction. Israel is fighting a war for her future! There is not a single Member State here, not a single Member State here, that would act differently in a similar situation. A ceasefire only serves to prolong Hamas' reign of terror so I urge all Member States to vote against this resolution.”
The vote at the UN General Assembly comes after the US on Friday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution which demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
Among the other 15 members of the Security Council, 13, including France and Switzerland, supported the proposal. Britain abstained.
In late October, the General Assembly adopted a resolution urging an "immediate, lasting and sustainable humanitarian ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip. 120 countries voted in favor of the resolution, 14 voted against, and 45 abstained.
Israel and the US were among the 14 countries that voted against that resolution, due to the fact that it failed to condemn Hamas for the October 7 terrorist massacres against Israelis.
Unlike resolutions passed by the Security Council, resolutions approved in the General Assembly are non-binding.