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Following the United States veto of a Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire last week, officials and diplomats announced that the UN General Assembly will convene on Tuesday to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The representatives of Egypt and Mauritania, "in their respective capacities as Chair of the Arab Group and Chair of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation," have called a special meeting of the General Assembly for Tuesday afternoon. Diplomatic sources say that a resolution proposing a ceasefire could be put to a vote by the General Assembly during the meeting, as its resolutions are not legally binding.
The language of the vetoed Security Council resolution from Friday, which expressed "grave concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip," is closely aligned with the draft text obtained by the AFP.
It demands the "immediate and unconditional release of all hostages" in addition to "an immediate humanitarian cease-fire."
After UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Friday, using the infrequently used Article 99 of the UN Charter to bring to the council's attention "any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security," the US blocked the ceasefire resolution.
After the war, Guterres stated that the body's "authority and credibility" had been "severely undermined" by its tardiness in responding.
In one of its resolutions, the General Assembly demanded an "immediate, durable, and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities" between Israel and Hamas at the end of October.
Two weeks later, the Security Council broke its silence on the war for the first time by calling for “extended pauses and humanitarian corridors," using less clear language than a ceasefire or a truce.
