United Nations to vote to demand immediate Gaza ceasefire

The United Nations General Assembly will vote on Thursday on a draft resolution that demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the war on Gaza after the United States vetoed a similar effort in the Security Council last week.

The 193-member General Assembly is likely to adopt the text with overwhelming support, diplomats say, despite Israel lobbying countries this week against taking part in what it called a "politically-motivated, counter-productive charade".

General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry weight as a reflection of the global view on the war. Previous demands by the body for an end to Israel's war have been ignored. Unlike the UN Security Council, no country has a veto in the General Assembly.

Thursday's vote also comes ahead of a UN conference next week that aims to reinvigorate an international push for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. The United States has urged countries not to attend.

In a note seen by Reuters, the US warned that "countries that take anti-Israel actions on the heels of the conference will be viewed as acting in opposition to US foreign policy interests and could face diplomatic consequences."

The US last week vetoed a draft UN Security Council resolution that also demanded an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" and unhindered aid access in Gaza, arguing it would undermine US-led efforts to broker a ceasefire.

The other 14 countries on the council voted in favour of the draft as a humanitarian crisis grips the enclave of more than 2 million people, where the UN warns famine looms and aid has only trickled in since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade last month.

'False and defamatory'

The draft resolution to be voted on by the General Assembly on Thursday demands the release of captives held by Hamas, the return of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

It demands unhindered aid access and "strongly condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and the unlawful denial of humanitarian access and depriving civilians...of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supply and access."

"This is both false and defamatory," Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon wrote in a letter to UN member states, sent on Tuesday and seen by Reuters.

Danon described the General Assembly draft resolution as an "immensely flawed and harmful text," urging countries not to take part in what he said was a "farce" that undermines captive negotiations and fails to condemn Hamas.

In October 2023, the General Assembly called for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza with 120 votes in favour. In December 2023, 153 countries voted to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Then, in December of last year, the body demanded, with 158 votes in favour, an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire.

Israel's military offensive has killed over 55,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities, with thousands more bodies having been lost under rubble.

(Reuters)