Palestinians inspect the destroyed house of the Al Fayomi family in Al Nusairat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, 11 December 2024. According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least eight members of the Al Fayomi family were killed in an Israeli airstrike in the Al Nusairat refugee camp. More than 45,000 Palestinians and over 1,400 Israelis have been killed, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry and the Israeli Army, since Hamas militants launched an attack against Israel from the Gaza Strip on 07 October 2023, and the Israeli operations in Gaza and the West Bank which followed it. EPA-EFE/MOHAMMED SABER The ceasefire demand in the resolution - adopted with 158 votes in favour - is an escalation by the 193-member General Assembly, which in October last year called for and then - two months later - demanded an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza.
General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry political weight, reflecting a global view on the war. The United States, Israel and seven other countries voted against the ceasefire resolution, while 13 countries abstained.
The world body also threw its support behind the UN Palestinian relief agency UNRWA, adopting a second resolution with 159 votes in favor to deplore a new law that will ban UNRWA's operations in Israel from late January.
It demanded that Israel respect UNRWA's mandate and "enable its operations to proceed without impediment or restriction." The US Israel and seven other countries voted no, while 11 countries abstained.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Ismail Shakil and Franklin Paul)