UN votes to demand Israel-Hamas ceasefire as hunger rises in Gaza
World Food Program says half the population in the Palestinian enclave is starving
The United Nations General Assembly has overwhelmingly voted in favour of demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
The vote in the 193-member world body was 153 in favour, including Canada, 10 against, 23 abstentions and seven not present. The support for the non-binding resolution was higher than for an Oct. 27 resolution that called for a "humanitarian truce" leading to a cessation of hostilities, when the vote was 120-14 with 45 abstentions. Canada abstained in that vote.
The resolution expresses "grave concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the suffering of the Palestinian civilian population," and it says Palestinians and Israelis must be protected in accordance with international humanitarian law.
It also demands that all parties comply with international humanitarian law, "notably with regard to the protection of civilians," and calls for "the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access."
The resolution makes no mention of Hamas, whose militants killed roughly 1,200 people and abducted about 240 hostages, according to Israeli officials, in a surprise attack inside Israel on Oct. 7.
Israel's retaliatory assaults have killed more than 18,000 people and wounded about 50,100, according to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.
Although General Assembly resolutions aren't legally binding, UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said Monday that they do reflect world opinions.
Waning support for Israel, U.S.
One growing sentiment reflected in Tuesday's vote is the increasing isolation of the United States and Israel, both of which refused to join demands for a ceasefire.
The U.S. had proposed an amendment that would have added a paragraph stating that the assembly "unequivocally rejects and condemns the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas," but that amendment was voted down.
Tuesday's emergency session was called by Arab and Islamic nations after the U.S. vetoed a resolution demanding a humanitarian ceasefire at the UN Security Council on Friday.
Prior to Tuesday's vote, U.S. President Joe Biden — in tougher language than usual — warned that Israel was losing international support because of its "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza.
Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian ambassador to the United Nations, told reporters before the vote that a demand from the UN — whether it's the Security Council or the General Assembly — should be looked at as binding.
"And Israel has to abide by it, and those who are shielding and protecting Israel until now should also look at it this way, and therefore act accordingly," he said.
Following the vote, Biden announced that his national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, will travel to Israel for talks with the country's war cabinet on the conflict in Gaza.
At a joint news conference with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, Biden said Sullivan will emphasize the need to protect civilian lives in Gaza and the U.S.'s commitment to Israel.
Canada calls for a ceasefire
Israel's UN ambassador, Gilad Erdan, issued a strongly worded statement ahead of the vote saying a ceasefire would only ensure "the survival of jihadist terror and the continued suffering of people of Gaza."
But Bob Rae, Canada's ambassador to the UN, told David Cochrane on Power & Politics that the status quo of fighting is unsustainable from a humanitarian point of view.
"There has to be a humanitarian ceasefire to allow goods to get in, to allow people to get out, to allow people to not die at the rate in which they have been dying," he said. "The only way that can happen in a realistic way is if people stop fighting."
Canada's "Yes" vote to a humanitarian ceasefire at the General Assembly represents a shift away from its long-standing practice of sitting with Israel on major resolutions at the UN.
This followed a joint statement between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the leaders of Australia and New Zealand calling for "efforts towards a sustainable ceasefire" in the Israel-Hamas war.
It was the first time the government of Canada has officially used the word "ceasefire" in relation to the conflict.
"The recent pause in hostilities allowed for the release of more than 100 hostages and supported an increase in humanitarian access to affected civilians," the statement said.
"We want to see this pause resumed and support urgent international efforts towards a sustainable ceasefire."
'This is starvation'
Aid agencies say hunger is worsening among Gazans, with the UN World Food Program saying half of Gaza's population is starving.
"At night we can't sleep because of the bombing, and in the morning we tour the streets looking for food for the children, there is no food," said Abu Khalil, a 40-year-old father of six who spoke to Reuters by phone from Rafah in southern Gaza.
"I couldn't find bread, and the prices of rice, salt or beans have doubled several times over. This is starvation. Israel kills us twice: Once by bombs and once by hunger."
The UN Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs said on Tuesday that limited aid distributions were taking place in the Rafah district, but aid distribution in the rest of the Gaza Strip has largely stopped over the past few days "due to the intensity of hostilities and restrictions of movement along the main roads."
Aid flows were also restricted by a shortage of trucks in Gaza, a continuing lack of fuel, communications blackouts and growing numbers of staff unable to travel to the Rafah crossing with Egypt because of the intensity of hostilities, it said.
UN officials say 1.9 million people — roughly 85 per cent of Gaza's population — are displaced and describe conditions in the southern areas where they have concentrated as hellish.
Displaced people sheltering in Rafah have erected tents of wood and nylon in open areas. Some are sleeping in the streets.
In a post on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, World Health Organization director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said a mission led by the organization to bring supplies in and evacuate patients from the last partly functioning hospital in northern Gaza was stopped in both directions by Israelis.
One of 19 critically wounded patients the team was trying to rescue died en route because of the holdup, he said.
"We are deeply concerned about prolonged checks and detention of health workers that put lives of already fragile patients at risk."
With files from Alexander Panetta, CBC News and Reuters