UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passes resolution urging ceasefire in Israel’s war on Gaza

The 193-member assembly adopted the resolution with 153 votes in favor on Tuesday.

Nine countries voted the resolution down, including the United States in line with its unfaltering political support for the Israeli regime.

The US, however, does not hold a veto power at the assembly, unlike the UN Security Council, where it has blocked successive such resolutions.

Washington has also provided Tel Aviv with more than 10,000 tons of military equipment since the latter began the war on Gaza on October 7 in response to an operation staged by the Palestinian territory’s resistance groups.

Gaza’s Health Ministry says 18,205 Palestinians have been killed, most of them women and children, and nearly 50,000 other wounded throughout the Israeli military campaign so far.

Palestinian UN Ambassador Riyad Mansour described the General Assembly vote as a culmination of international public sentiment, and said the US could not continue “to ignore this massive power.”

“It is our collective duty to continue on this path until we see an end to this aggression against our people, to see this war stopping against our people. It is our duty to save lives,” he told reporters.

On Sunday, the chief of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) described the conditions in Gaza as the worst he had ever seen.

Philippe Lazzarini said his agency was on the verge of collapsing in Gaza, adding that an immediate ceasefire was needed to end “hell on earth” there.

In a move not taken in decades, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres invoked Article 99 of the world body’s Charter on Wednesday to notify the Security Council about the threat that was posed to international peace and security by the Israeli war and push for a ceasefire.