UN general assembly votes to demand Gaza ceasefire The UN general assembly overwhelmingly voted to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The resolution for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire passed with 153 members voting in favor, 10 voting against, and 23 abstaining. The countries that voted against included: The United States Austria Israel Paraguay The United Kingdom voted to abstain. UNRWA has confirmed that one of its schools in northern Gaza was blown up. In a post on Twitter/X, Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner general of UNRWA said: “Saw videos of an @UNRWA school in northern #Gaza blown up. It is outrageous. All public facilities, including hospitals & @UN schools are protected under international law.” Footage has been circulating online of the school in question and shows it being detonated as Israel Defense Forces troops appear to cheer nearby. Joe Biden, in a press conference with Volodymyr Zelenskiy, reiterated US support for Israel, citing the “brutality” of the Hamas attack on 7 October. But, in line with more Israel-critical comments he made earlier today, he added: “We have made it clear to the Israelis that the safety of innocent Palestinians is still of great concern.” The US president called every civilian death a “tragedy”. Here is a breakdown of the UN resolution vote by country. Political scientist Ian Bremmer compared the results of the ceasefire resolution to the UN vote in February that called for an end too the war in Ukraine. The latest vote from the UN general assembly shows growing support for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. Thirty-two more countries voted in favor of a ceasefire compared to 27 October vote. While 14 countries voted against a ceasefire in October, only 10 voted against the resolution today. As the UN gathered to vote on the humanitarian ceasefire resolution, pro-Palestine protestors continued outside the general assembly meeting in New York. UN general assembly votes to demand Gaza ceasefire The UN general assembly overwhelmingly voted to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The resolution for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire passed with 153 members voting in favor, 10 voting against, and 23 abstaining. The countries that voted against included: The United States Austria Israel Paraguay The United Kingdom voted to abstain. The US’s amendment has also failed, as it did not obtain the necessary two-thirds majority. Eighty-four members voted in favor, 62 voted against. Twenty-five members abstained. The amendment would condemn the 7 October attack and the kidnapping of hostages. Austria’s amendment has failed, as it did not obtain the required two-thirds majority. The amendment called for clarification that hostages are being held by “Hamas and other groups”. Eighty-nine UN members voted in favor, while 61 voted against. Twenty members abstained. Munir Akram, the UN representative of Pakistan, have said they will not support either amendment introduced by the US and Austria, calling Israel’s attacks on Palestine “one-sided slaughter”. Akram called out Israel’s treatment of Palestinian people as having a role in the attacks on 7 October: Akram also called out arguments from the US and others that Israel should be allowed to act in self-defense. “Is this any kind of legitimate self defense when you can kill 18,00 civilians with impunity and enjoy the protection of [the] security council against action?” he said. The US has also introduced an amendment that would condemn the 7 October attack and the kidnapping of hostages. From J Alex Tarquinio, correspondent for Foreign Policy: Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US representative for the UN, has said they support the amendment brought by Austria, but called a ceasefire “dangerous”. “We support affirming that Israel, like every single country on Earth, has the rights and the responsibility to defend itself from terrorism,” Greenfield said. “So long as Hamas remains driven by its murderous ideology, any ceasefire right now would be temporary at its best, and dangerous at its worst,” she added. The UN representative for Austria introduced an amendment on the ceasefire resolution. The amendment asks to signify that hostages are being held by “Hamas and other groups”. From J Alex Tarquinio, correspondent for Foreign Policy: The Austrian representative said it supports the amendment as the current resolution falls short and doesn’t name Hamas or ensure Israel has the right to defend itself. Mahmoud warned that a failure to pass the resolution would legitimize genocide as a tool for war and lead to a war in the Middle Eastern region. “This will unfortunately mean that genocide will be used as a tool for war, completely disregarding international law,” Mahmoud said. “This will lead the region to a full-fledged war and it will jeopardize the creditability of this international organization,” he said. Osama Mahmoud Abdelkhalek Mahmoud, UN representative for Egypt, is speaking about the wide spread support for the resolution amid other UN members, despite the US’s veto. “This is a sign of the international community is well aware of the seriousness of the current situation and its tragic repercussions on national peace and security,” he said. The UN general assembly president, Dennis Francis, wrapped his remarks with a final plea: “In the name of humanity, I ask you all once again: Stop this violence, now.” UN general assembly debating resolution for immediate ceasefire The UN general assembly is currently meeting on a resolution for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Dennis Francis, president of the UN general assembly, is currently speaking, calling the violence a “humanitarian catastrophe”. “Civilians should never undergo the level of suffering we are currently witnessing,” Francis said. “Again, I ask, how many more thousands of lives must be lost before we do something? No more time is left. The carnage must stop,” Francis added. The Israeli army said on Tuesday that it had recovered the bodied of two hostages taken by Hamas during a military operation in Gaza, AFP reported. From AFP: The army had previously confirmed that one of the hostages, soldier Ziv Dado, was killed on the day of the attack, but Israel considers those still held by Hamas to be hostages regardless of whether they are dead or alive. The other hostage, Eden Zecharya, was taken by Hamas from the Supernova music festival near the Reim kibbutz. Before the bodies of Dado and Zecharya were recovered, Israel said it believed 137 hostages were still in Hamas captivity. A statement from the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, which has helped to coordinate relatives’ outreach efforts, said that Zecharya “was kidnapped while injured in the upper half of her body”, and that her boyfriend was murdered during the attack. Israel said on Tuesday that 19 people who are still being held hostage are dead in absentia, also announcing that it had recovered the bodies of two hostages, Reuters reported. Of the 19 people include a Tanzanian national, said Israel’s press office. Tanzania has said that two of its citizens were among those taken hostage in October. Some 240 people were taken hostage by Hamas on 7 October, with 135 people still in captivity. The Israeli military has reportedly begun pumping seawater into Gaza’s tunnel system, with some critics warning that such a move could hurt Gaza’s freshwater supply, the Wall Street Journal reports. The Israeli military has said such tunnels are where Hamas is hiding fighters, hostages, and weapons, the Journal reported. The process of destroying the tunnels by pumping in seawater could take weeks. Israel’s military did not immediately provide comment on the report to Reuters.