The UN General Assembly will vote on a draft resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday.
This is a symbolic gesture after the US previously vetoed a similar action in the UN Security Council.
The draft resolution also calls for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, which is an accommodation of Israel’s staunch allies.
The non-binding resolution also calls for “immediate access” to extensive humanitarian aid for Gazans, who have been at war with Israel for more than a year, particularly in the territory’s beleaguered north.
The war in Gaza began with Hamas’ October 7, 2023, onslaught, which killed 1,208 persons, the majority of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on government data.
The count includes hostages who died or were slain while being detained in Gaza.
During the attack, militants kidnapped 251 hostages, 96 of whom are still in Gaza, including 34 who the military says have died.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive in Gaza has killed at least 44,786 people, the majority of whom are civilians, according to data from the Hamas-run health ministry, which the UN considers reliable.
“Gaza today is the bleeding heart of Palestine,” Palestinian UN ambassador Riyad Mansour said last week during the Assembly’s first debate on the resolution.
“The images of our children burning in tents, with no food in their bellies and no hopes and no horizon for the future, and after having endured pain and loss for more than a year, should haunt the conscience of the world and prompt action to end this nightmare,” he continued, calling for an end to the “impunity.’
However, Israel has denounced the draft resolution ahead of the vote.
“If you truly want peace, it begins with dismantling this infrastructure of hate and the glorification of terror,” Israeli UN ambassador Danny Danon said, in reference to humanitarian agency UNRWA, whose employees were accused by Israel of assisting with the October 7 attacks.
The draft resolution addresses “the need for accountability” by requesting that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres provide “proposals on how the United Nations could help to advance accountability.”
An earlier draft obtained by AFP sought to establish an international body to assist in investigating and prosecuting individuals responsible for breaking international law against Palestinians.
However, that wording was not included in the draft resolution that would be presented to vote.
A second draft resolution scheduled for a vote on Wednesday will urge Israel to uphold UNRWA’s mandate and allow it to continue its “safe and unhindered humanitarian assistance” operations, following Israel’s vote to prohibit them.
The prohibition, which is set to take effect on January 28, has drawn global outcry, notably from crucial Israeli ally the United States.
