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• Urges nations to take ‘all measures necessary’ to exert pressure on Israel
• World body says Gaza Humanitarian Foundation has failed in its mission
UNITED NATIONS: The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and urging nations to take “all measures necessary” to place pressure on Israel.
Following the United States’ veto of a similar push in the Security Council last week, the General Assembly on Thursday adopted the non-binding resolution by a vote of 149-12, with 19 abstentions.
The text demands “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza, as well as the immediate and unconditional release of all prisoners. However, it goes further than the US-vetoed text, taking direct aim at Israel over its impeding aid deliveries into the Gaza Strip.
It “demands that Israel, the occupying Power, immediately end the blockade… and ensure that aid reaches the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip,” which after more than 20 months of war is facing a catastrophic humanitarian situation.
It also calls on all UN members to “individually and collectively take all measures necessary, in line with international law… to ensure compliance by Israel with its obligations.”
Israel’s envoy Danny Danon slammed the resolution in remarks to the press ahead of the vote, saying it is “a farce, is a moral failure, is a political stunt”.
Palestinian Ambassador Riyad Mansour, meanwhile, called on all nations to turn their votes “into resolute action”. “No arms, no money, no trade to oppress Palestinians,” he urged.
The resolution adopted “strongly (condemns) any use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and the unlawful denial of humanitarian access.”
‘GHF has been a failure’
Israel recently ended a total blockade to allow some deliveries to resume through the newly formed, US-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) distribution centres.
The United Nations, which until now has sought to coordinate aid deliveries throughout Gaza, refuses to work with the GHF, citing concerns over its practices and neutrality.
On Friday, the United Nations said the US- and Israeli-backed GHF has been a failure from a humanitarian standpoint of view.
The UN and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.
“GHF, I think it’s fair to say, has been, from a principled humanitarian standpoint, a failure,” Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency OCHA, told a press briefing in Geneva.
“They are not doing what a humanitarian operation should do, which is providing aid to people where they are, in a safe and secure manner. We have the operation ready to roll with food and other supplies ready. We have them in the region, they are pre-cleared by the Israelis.
“We need the borders open to get in and of course we need the safety and security and some resemblance of law and order inside Gaza in order to distribute it,” Laerke said.
An officially private effort with opaque funding and backed by Israel, GHF began operations on May 26 after Israel completely cut off supplies into Gaza for more than two months, sparking warnings of mass famine.
GHF claimed that it had distributed nearly 2.6 million meals on Thurs-day and more than 18.6m to date.
The Palestinian Authority said internet and fixed-line communication services were down in Gaza on Thursday following an attack on the territory’s last fibre optic cable which it blamed on Israel.
“There was and there still is a massive communications blackout,” said Laerke. “If there is no communication it really is damaging” for aid services, he said.
“There is an active effort to try to fix it, of course, and everybody is looking into that, because things kind of ground to a halt when these things happen.”
Published in Dawn, June 14th, 2025
