Updated On: 12 December, 2024 11:19 AM IST | United Nations | AP
The votes culminated two days of speeches overwhelmingly calling for an end to the 14-month war between Israel and the militant Hamas group.

Palestinians near tents after an Israeli strike next to a school sheltering displaced people.Pic/AFP
The UN General Assembly has overwhelmingly approved resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and backing the UN agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has moved to ban. The votes in the 193-nation world body were 158-9, with 13 abstentions to demand a ceasefire now and 159-9 with 11 abstentions in support of the agency known as UNRWA. The votes culminated two days of speeches overwhelmingly calling for an end to the 14-month war between Israel and the militant Hamas group.
Israel and its close ally, the United States, were in a tiny minority speaking and voting against the resolutions. While Security Council resolutions are legally binding, General Assembly resolutions are not, though they do reflect world opinion. There are no vetoes in the assembly. The Palestinians and their supporters went to the General Assembly after the US vetoed a Security Council resolution on November 20 demanding an immediate Gaza ceasefire. It was supported by the council's 14 other members but the US objected that it was not linked to an immediate release of hostages taken by Hamas militants during their attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, which triggered the war.