United Nations General Assembly demands Gaza ceasefire immediately

The UN General Assembly demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in war-torn Gaza, rebuking the US for blocking UN Security Council ceasefire calls.

In the General Assembly's emergency special session Tuesday, 153 nations supported the ceasefire resolution, 10 opposed, and 23 abstained.

Tuesday's brief resolution calls for a ceasefire, international law compliance, humanitarian access to hostages, and their “immediate and unconditional” release. It uses stronger language than an October assembly vote on a “sustained humanitarian truce.”

The vote, called “historic” by Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour, comes as the Israeli-Hamas war enters its third month and medics and aid groups warn of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The Hamas-controlled enclave health ministry reported Monday that more than 18,000 people have died since fighting began.

Following Hamas' October 7 attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 and kidnapped 240, Israel has said it will continue its military campaign until it eliminates Gaza's Hamas. Over 100 Gaza hostages are believed to be held.

Israel, the US, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Austria, Czechia, Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia, and Nauru opposed Tuesday's resolution.

Unlike a Security Council resolution, a General Assembly vote is nonbinding but politically and morally significant. A majority of the powerful 15-member Security Council approved a ceasefire resolution last week, but the US vetoed it.