UN urges Gaza truce in resolution as many oppose, abstain
This photo shows a United Nations General Assembly meeting in New York on Oct. 27, 2023
The U.N. General Assembly adopted a resolution Friday calling for a “humanitarian truce” in the Gaza Strip, devastated by conflicts between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, with nearly a third of its members opposing or abstaining.
A total of 120 of the 193 members backed the resolution, which was nonbinding, while the United States and 13 others opposed it and 45, including Japan, abstained.
The resolution condemned “all acts of violence aimed at Palestinian and Israel civilians, including all acts of terrorism and indiscriminate attacks” and expressed “grave concern” at the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
It mentioned the people being taken hostage by Hamas after its attacks on Oct. 7 but did not name the captor, simply calling for “the immediate and unconditional release of all civilians who are being illegally held captive.”
“Two key words are missing in the resolution before us,” Linda Thomas-Greenfield, U.S. ambassador to the world body, said in her speech at the assembly. “The first is Hamas” and the other is “hostage,” she said.
