🔴 Live: UN General Assembly votes for Gaza ceasefire, further isolating US and Israel

A screen shows voting results during the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on the ceasefire resolution amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas at UN headquarters in New York City, December 12, 2023. © Eduardo Muñoz, Reuters

The UN General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza – a call the paralysed Security Council has so far failed to make, piling pressure on Israel and the US. Follow our live blog for the latest developments in the Israel-Hamas war. All times are Paris time (GMT+1).

Summary:

• The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly on Tuesday to demand a humanitarian cease fire in Gaza in a strong demonstration of global support for ending the Israel-Hamas war. The vote in the 193-member world body was 153 in favor, 10 against and 23 abstentions. Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but the assembly’s messages “are also very important” and reflect world opinion, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said Monday.

• The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday said he was concerned about the prolonged checks of health convoys in the Gaza Strip and the detention of health workers. A patient that was part of a WHO-led mission to Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza on Saturday died after health workers were detained and questioned, delaying the convoy.   
• Nearly 40,000 buildings or about 18% of all pre-conflict structures have been damaged or destroyed in the Gaza Strip since the Israel-Hamas war began on October 7, a UN assessment showed on Tuesday.
• Hamas attacked southern Israeli communities on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking some 240 hostages, according to the Israeli government. Since then, 18,412 people have been killed in Israel's ensuing assault on the Gaza Strip and at least 50,100 people injured, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run enclave. At least 7,600 people are missing, according to the Hamas media office.

Key developments from yesterday:

• Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday that Israel had no intention of staying permanently in the Gaza Strip.

• UN Security Council ambassadors travelled to Egypt on Monday to visit the Rafah border crossing with the besieged Gaza Strip, days after the United States vetoed a council resolution for a ceasefire.

• European Union foreign ministers on Monday considered possible next steps in response to the Middle East crisis, including a crackdown on Hamas’s finances and travel bans for Israeli settlers responsible for violence in the West Bank.

• Israel's Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called for Hamas militants to lay down their arms, saying the Palestinian Islamist group's end was near.

• Hamas warned that no hostages would leave Gaza alive unless its demands for prisoner releases are met.

(FRANCE 24 with AFP, AP & Reuters)