On Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly in favor of an immediate cease-fire resolution in Gaza. Of the general assembly’s 193 member states, 153 voted in favor and 23 abstained from the vote.
Only ten states voted against the resolution: Austria, Czechia, Guatemala, Israel, Liberia, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and the United States. The U.S. vetoed a cease-fire resolution at the Security Council last week but does not have veto power in the General Assembly.
“Any cease-fire right now would be temporary at the best and dangerous at worst — dangerous to Israelis, who would be subject to relentless attacks, and also dangerous to Palestinians, who deserve the chance to build a better future for themselves, free from Hamas,” the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said on Tuesday.
Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Gilad Erdan, warned that a cease-fire would ensure “the survival of genocidal terrorists committed to the annihilation of Israel and Jews.”
“A cease-fire is a death sentence for countless more Israelis and Gazans,” Erdan told the General Assembly. “By voting in favor of this resolution you are supporting the survival of jihadist terror and the continued suffering of people of Gaza.”
Although the cease-fire resolution failed to pass in the Security Council four times before Tuesday’s General Assembly vote, other U.N. entities have called for a cease-fire in Gaza since Hamas attacked the Jewish state and murdered an estimated 1,200 Israelis on October 7. The General Assembly also called for a humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas in late October and has demanded that humanitarian aid be funneled into Gaza.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said last weekend that he would “not give up” his appeal for a cease-fire.
“We are all aware that Israel began its military operation in response to the brutal terror attacks unleashed by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on 7 October,” Guterres told the Security Council on December 9. “I unreservedly condemn those attacks. I am appalled by the reports of sexual violence.”
“At the same time, the brutality perpetrated by Hamas can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” Guterres added.
President Joe Biden warned this week that international support for Israel might dwindle if Israeli forces continue their counter-attack.
“We’ll continue to provide military assistance to Israel until they get rid of Hamas, but we have to be careful — they have to be careful,” Biden also said on Monday. “The whole world’s public opinion can shift overnight; we can’t let that happen.”