The UN General Assembly on Friday overwhelmingly adopted a non-binding resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian truce in Israel's war on Gaza.

RELATED:

Communications Cut Off in Gaza amid Heavy Israeli Bombardment

The resolution, drafted by Jordan on behalf of the Arab group, was adopted by 120 votes in favor, 14 against and 45 countries abstaining, as a two-thirds majority was required for adoption, where abstentions do not count. 

The document "calls for an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities," and calls for immediate humanitarian aid, including the resumption of water and electricity supplies and the delivery of fuel." 

Submitted by nearly 50 Arab nations, including Türkiye, Palestine, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the draft resolution expresses "grave concern" over the "latest escalation of violence" in the Middle East as the conflict enters its 21st day. 

The Arab states condemn "all acts of violence against Palestinian and Israeli civilians, including all acts of terror and indiscriminate attacks, as well as all acts of provocation, incitement and destruction."

It further urged "all parties to comply immediately and fully with their obligations under international law," and stressed the need to protect civilians "in accordance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law."

It called for the "immediate and unconditional release of all civilians unlawfully held captive," and also stressed the importance of "preventing further destabilization and escalation of violence in the region."

A Canadian-led (and U.S.-backed) attempt to amend the resolution to include rejection and condemnation of "Hamas terrorist attacks" received 88 votes in favor, 55 against and 23 abstentions, failing to achieve the required two-thirds majority.

This comes as Israel is expanding ground operations and cutting off communications in Gaza. Israeli forces' bombardment, especially in the north of the enclave, has in recent hours escalated in unprecedented intensity. 

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi warned that an Israeli ground invasion of Gaza would be a catastrophe for the Palestinian territory. The "result will be a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions for years to come," Safadi said on the X social network.

Votes against and Abstentions

Voting against the resolution, were the United States, Israel, Austria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Fiji, Guatemala, Hungary, Israel, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay and Tonga.

In this regard, the Jordanian Foreign Minister stated before the vote that voting against the General Assembly resolution "means approving this senseless war, this senseless slaughter".

Among the countries that abstained were Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom.

The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, welcomed the vote saying that everything possible had to be done to stop the war because it meant "more killing of children, more killing of civilians, more destruction."

In the last two weeks, the UN Security Council has vetoed four different draft resolutions. In this regard, Mansour said that the Palestinian delegation will continue to try to get the UN Security Council to adopt a binding resolution calling for a cease-fire.

The UN denounces a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza due to the massive Israeli bombardment that has left 7,415 Palestinians dead and more than 20,500 injured in the course of three weeks. 

The start of the Israeli offensive against the Gaza Strip and the violence in the West Bank began last October 7 following a wide-ranging operation by the Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in the irregular settlements of the occupying forces around Gaza.