In the United Nations General Assembly, the United States was one of 14 countries to oppose the resolution calling for a “humanitarian truce” in Gaza amidst the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Thirteen other countries joined the U.S. in voting against the truce, while 45 countries abstained from voting on Friday. A total of 120 countries voted in favor of the humanitarian truce according to the UN.
The resolution aims to establish an immediate, durable, and sustained humanitarian truce between Israeli forces and Hamas militants in Gaza.
According to the UN, the resolution also demands a continuous, sufficient, and unhindered provision of life-saving supplies to the people trapped in Gaza.
Furthermore, the resolution condemns all acts of violence against Palestinian and Israeli civilians.
Notably, the resolution does not specifically denounce the surprise attack by Hamas on October 7, nor does it mention Hamas at all. Several proposed amendments to name Israel and Hamas in the resolution failed to gather enough support.
It also calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all civilians held captive. Hamas had taken more than 200 people hostage during their attack on October 7.
This resolution represents the first official response from the UN to the Hamas attacks on Israel and Israel’s counteroffensive. Previous measures proposed by the UN Security Council either failed to pass or were vetoed by the U.S., Russia, or China.
Austria, Croatia, Czechia, Fiji, Guatemala, Hungary, Israel, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, and Tonga joined the U.S. in opposing the measure.
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