Israel has expressed outrage at the UN's vote for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with its ambassador warning that fighting will only end if Hamas terrorists 'lay down their weapons'.
Gilad Erdan gave an impassioned speech to the UN General Assembly shortly before the landmark resolution to put an immediate end to the fighting between Hamas and Israel was passed.
'If you want a real ceasefire, you've come to the right place. Here is the phone number of the Hamas office in Gaza, you can all call,” he told delegates before reading out the number of Yahya Sinwar, a terror leader dubbed “Gaza's Bin Laden.”
The irate official continued: “Tell Hamas to put down their arms, turn themselves in and return our hostages. This will lead to a complete ceasefire that will last forever.”
Top Hamas official Izzat El-Reshiq responded by welcoming the vote and urged the international community to put pressure on Israel to adhere to the resolution. Talks between the two sides are ongoing, key negotiator Qatar said earlier this week.
Calls for a ceasefire from around the world are growing more desperate amid the rising Palestinian death toll in Gaza, which stands at more than 18,400, according to the Hamas-led Health Ministry.
Israel declared war on Hamas after about 1,200 Israelis were killed by the terrorists during their Oct. 7 rampage, while more than 200 people were taken hostage.
So far, all attempts to broker a permanent ceasefire have proven futile, and while politically important because they reflect a global view of the war, the final vote is non-binding.
Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan held up the phone number of top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar ahead of the non-binding ceasefire vote.
The General Assembly, which includes all 193 UN member states, voted 153 in favor of the resolution
The Israeli army on December 12, 2023 shows soldiers operating in the Gaza Strip
A total of ten countries, including the United States and Israel, voted against, while 23 abstained
The hamstrung UN Security Council failed to make the same call last week after the United States vetoed a similar declaration in the 15-member Security Council.
The General Assembly, which includes all 193 U.N. member states, voted 153 in favor of the resolution, more than the roughly 140 countries that have routinely supported resolutions condemning Russia for its invasion of Ukraine.
Ten countries, including the United States and Israel, voted against, while 23 abstained. Pressure on the US is increasing as calls for a ceasefire increase, and Israel continues to support the war against Hamas.
But rifts are beginning to emerge between the allies, with US President Joe Biden warning Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday that Israel risks losing global support for its war against Hamas amid its “indiscriminate” bombing of Gaza.
In his bluntest comments since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on Israel that sparked the current conflict, Biden told donors that Netanyahu needed to “change” his position on a two-state solution for the Palestinians.
Netanyahu, meanwhile, said there was “disagreement” with Biden over how a post-conflict Gaza would be governed, reflecting a rare rift after weeks in which the US leader has strongly backed Israel.
Biden told a campaign rally in Washington that Israel “supported most of the world” after the Hamas attacks, which Israel said killed 1,200 people. Hundreds were also taken hostage.
“But they're starting to lose that support because of the indiscriminate bombings that are happening,” Biden said.
Ambassador of Palestine Riyad Mansour speaks at a press conference with representatives of other Arab countries after the vote
Representative of United Nations Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks during the special emergency session of the UN General Assembly on the war between Israel and Hamas
Israeli troops are shelling the Gaza Strip from the border area in southern Israel
Smoke rises over Gaza, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, seen from southern Israel, December 12, 2023
The Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza said on Tuesday that more than 18,400 people – mostly women and children – have been killed in the Israeli bombardment since October 7.
The US president also rejected arguments he said Netanyahu had made that Allied forces had “carpet bombed” Germany and used nuclear weapons against Japan in World War II.
Biden said he told Netanyahu that international institutions had been created after the war “to make sure it didn't happen again” and reiterated that the United States had made “mistakes” after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Biden then said Netanyahu had to make a “difficult decision” regarding his far-right government.
“He's a good friend, but I think he needs to change and with this government in Israel, this government in Israel is making it very difficult for him to move,” the US president said.
“They don't want a two-state solution,” he said, describing it as the “most conservative government in Israel's history.”
His comments reflect a growing divide over what happens after the war, with the US call to hand Gaza over to a strengthened Palestinian Authority met with a cool response in Israel.
The Palestinian Authority is currently in charge of the West Bank, while the Islamist Hamas controls the Gaza Strip.
On Tuesday, Netanyahu said after a conversation with Biden that there was “disagreement” between the allies about “the day after Hamas.”
Palestinians search for survivors after an Israeli bombardment of the city of Rafah in southern Gaza
A seriously injured child is treated by doctors at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza, after Israeli attacks
The Israeli prime minister said he hoped “we will reach an agreement here” but vowed not to “repeat the Oslo mistake,” referring to the peace accords signed in the United States in 1993.
Washington has been calling on Israel for weeks to take greater care to avoid civilian casualties in Gaza, because too many Palestinians have been killed.
Biden had issued a similar warning about global aid on Monday during a White House ceremony marking the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah.
'We have to be careful. They have to be careful. “The public opinion of the whole world can change overnight, we cannot let that happen,” he told the guests.