The UN General Assembly met on Tuesday afternoon in Emergency Special Session on the decades-long Israel-Palestine conflict and as the ongoing crisis in Gaza shows no signs of abating.

Member States adopted a resolution, demanding an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire”, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and well as “ensuring humanitarian access”.

It passed with a large majority of 153 in favour and 10 against, with 23 abstentions.  

The resolution also reiterated the General Assembly's demand that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, including international humanitarian law, “notably with regard to the protection of civilians”.

Prior to the resolution, two amendments making specific reference to extremist group Hamas were voted down by members.

Emergency session

The emergency session was a continuation of the tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly that last met on 26 October amid the present crisis in Gaza, during which it adopted a resolution on the crisis, calling for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities.”

At the end of that meeting, the Assembly decided to adjourn the session temporarily and to authorize the President of the General Assembly to resume its meeting upon request from Member States.

The emergency special session is convened pursuant to the Assembly’s 1950 landmark “Uniting for Peace” resolution, under which the body can convene an “emergency special session” within 24 hours, should the Security Council “fail to exercise its primary responsibility” for the maintenance of international peace and security.

The session convened for the first time in April 1997, following a request from Qatar. It followed a series of Security Council and General Assembly meetings regarding the Israeli decision to build a large housing project in an area of East Jerusalem.