US last week vetoed demand for Gaza truce in Security Council

13/6/2025 6:28

The United Nations

General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly demanded an

immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the war in

Gaza and aid access, after the United States vetoed a similar

effort in the Security Council last week.



The 193-member General Assembly adopted a resolution that

also demands the release of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas, the

return of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel and the full

withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.



The text garnered 149 votes in favor, while 19 countries

abstained and the U.S., Israel and 10 others voted against.



The resolution "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."



Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told the General

Assembly this was "blood libel." He had urged countries not to

take part in what he said was a "farce" that undermines hostage

negotiations and fails to condemn Hamas.



"It must be acknowledged that by failing to condition a

ceasefire on the release of the hostages, you told every

terrorist organization that abducting civilians works," he said.



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 the war between Israel and

Palestinian militants Hamas have been ignored. Unlike the U.N.

Security Council, no country has a veto in the General Assembly.







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Libya's U.N. Ambassador Taher El-Sonni told the General

Assembly before the vote that for "those pressing the red button

today to vote against this resolution (it) will become a blood

stain on their fingers."



The U.S. last week vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council

resolution that also demanded an "immediate, unconditional and

permanent ceasefire" and unhindered aid access in Gaza, arguing

it would undermine U.S.-led efforts to broker a ceasefire.



The other 14 member states voted in favor of the draft as a

humanitarian crisis grips the enclave of more than 2 million

people, where the U.N. warns famine looms and aid has only

trickled in since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade last month.



Acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea told the General

Assembly before the vote that the resolution "does nothing to

free the hostages, improve the lives of civilians in Gaza, or

bring us closer to a ceasefire, and is yet another performative

action that erodes the credibility of this body."



The vote came ahead of a U.N. conference next week that aims

to reinvigorate an international push for a two-state solution

between Israel and the Palestinians. The U.S. has urged

countries not to attend.



In October 2023, the General Assembly called for an

immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza with 120 votes in favor. In

December 2023, 153 countries voted to demand an immediate

humanitarian ceasefire. Then in December 2024, it demanded -

with 158 votes in favor - an immediate, unconditional and

permanent ceasefire.



The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas militants

killed 1,200 people in Israel in an October 7 attack and took

some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli

tallies. Many of those killed or captured were civilians.



Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed

over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities.

They say civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks and that

thousands more bodies have been lost under rubble.