Anadolu Agency – December 12, 2023
UN General Assembly adopts resolution demanding immediate cease-fire in Gaza
153 countries vote in favor of resolution and 10 against, while 23 abstain
Rabia İclal Turan
The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a draft resolution Tuesday demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.
The non-binding resolution, presented by Egypt with the support of nearly 100 countries, including Türkiye, passed with 153 votes in favor as the 193-member General Assembly gathered for an emergency special session on Palestine.
Ten countries, including the US, Israel and Austria, voted against the resolution, while 23 countries including the UK, Germany, Italy and Ukraine abstained from voting.
In addition to demanding a cease-fire, the resolution expressed grave concern over the "catastrophic humanitarian situation" in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of Palestinian civilians.
It also emphasized that the Palestinian and Israeli civilian populations "must be protected" in accordance with international humanitarian law while demanding all parties to comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, notably with regard to the protection of civilians.
The draft resolution also demanded the "immediate and unconditional release" of all hostages as well as ensuring humanitarian access.
In the resolution, a reference was made to the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the resolutions regarding the question of Palestine.
Recalling all relevant UN Security Council resolutions, it also noted the invoking by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of Article 99 of the UN Charter for the first time since he assumed the organization's top post in 2017 for the establishment of a cease-fire.
It also noted a letter by Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, to the president of the General Assembly drawing attention to the deteriorating humanitarian situation.
The US proposed an amendment to the resolution to condemn the Palestinian group Hamas for its Oct. 7 attack on Israel while Austria proposed clarifying that the hostages are "held by Hamas and other groups." Both proposals were rejected at the UN General Assembly.
This came after the US vetoed a UN Security Council draft resolution on Friday that demanded an immediate cease-fire to halt the ongoing bloodshed in the Gaza Strip as the death toll continues to mount.
In October, the General Assembly voted in favor of a draft resolution calling for "an immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities" with 121 countries in favor and 14 countries against -- including the US -- and 44 abstaining.
UN General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they carry political weight.
UN General Assembly vote breakdown
153 votes in favor of the 193-member UN General Assembly
Absententions 23:
Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cabo Verde, Cameroon, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, Finland, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Haiti, Iceland, India, Iraq, Italy, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Latvia, Lithuania, Monaco, Netherlands, North Macedonia, Palau, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, San Marino, Ukrain, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu and Zambia.
Against 10:
Austria, Croatia, Czeckia, Fiji, Guatemala, Hungary, Israel, Marshall Island, Micronesia, Nauru, Papua New Gunia, Paraguay, Tonga and the United States.
Middle East Monitor - December 11, 2023
WHO: 449 Israeli attacks on health services in Palestine
World Health Organisation (WHO) Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Sunday confirmed more than 449 attacks on health services in Gaza and the West Bank since Oct. 7, saying “now the work of the health workers is impossible.”
Speaking at a special session organised by the WHO executive board on the health situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, Tedros emphasised the catastrophic impact of conflicts on the health situation in Gaza, Anadolu Agency reports.
“More than 17,000 people are reported to have died in Gaza, including 7,000 children and we don’t know how many are buried under the rubble of their homes. More than 46,000 injuries have been reported,” he said.
As many as “1.9 million people have been displaced – almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip – and are looking for shelter anywhere they can find it. Nowhere and no one is safe in Gaza,” he added.
He emphasised that health should never be a target, saying on average, there is one shower unit for every 700 people and one toilet for every 150 people, and there are worrying signals of epidemic diseases including bloody diarrhoea, and jaundice. According to him, only 14 hospitals out of the original 36 are partially functional.
“As more and more people move to a smaller and smaller area, overcrowding, combined with the lack of adequate food, water, shelter and sanitation, are creating the ideal conditions for disease to spread,” he said.
The WHO chief emphasised their support for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call for a permanent and urgent humanitarian cease-fire to ensure the delivery of critical aid to those in urgent need in the Gaza Strip.
“A cease-fire is the only way to truly protect and promote the health of the people of Gaza. I deeply regret that the Security Council was unable to adapt a resolution on such a cease-fire last Friday,” he said, referring to the US veto blocking the international calls for a truce.
Israel, in response to the Oct. 7 attack by Palestinian group Hamas, launched air and ground attacks on the besieged enclave, killing thousands of Palestinians, mostly civilians, and forced some 1.9 million people to flee their homes. Gazans also face severe shortages of food, water and other basic goods as only a trickle of aid is allowed in.
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