US cruelly insensitive to worsening Gaza situation: China Daily editorial

With 153 votes in favor, 10 against, and 23 abstentions, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.

Despite a General Assembly vote only carrying moral weight, as UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, the messages they send are "very important" since they reflect world opinion.

And as CNN said, it is a rebuke to the United States which was the only country to veto a cease-fire resolution in the 15-member UN Security Council last week. All the other UNSC members approved the resolution apart from the United Kingdom, which abstained.

Tuesday's resolution, which was passed at an Emergency Special Session of the General Assembly, calls for a cease-fire, for all parties to comply with international law, and for humanitarian access to hostages as well as their "immediate and unconditional" release. Although its language is tougher than the Security Council resolution the US vetoed — it demands, rather than calls for or urges the two sides to agree to a cease-fire — the US was one of the countries that voted against the resolution. US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, indicated that the US is sticking to its guns, saying that since the resolution "failed to condemn Hamas", the US wouldn't support it.

The death toll in Gaza, which has been described as the world's largest outdoor prison, continues to rise, 18,200 Palestinians plus 104 Israeli soldiers have been killed since Israel launched its military operation in response to the Hamas attacks on Oct 7 that killed 1,200 people and saw around 240 kidnapped. Over 100 hostages are still being held in Gaza, according to Israeli authorities.

Israel has said it will not stop its military campaign until it eradicates Hamas. But it is generally believed that it will not be able to do that, and in the meantime, its military operation has left half of the 2.3 million people in Gaza starving, according to the UN World Food Programme. Hundreds of or even more newborns in incubators face the threat of death because the electricity has been cut off. And almost 40,000, or 18 percent, of the buildings in Gaza, have been damaged or destroyed.

The Joe Biden administration's seemingly unconditional support for Israel is prolonging the humanitarian disaster in Gaza and causing more casualties with every hour that passes. It's time that the US acknowledged what is happening in Gaza and played a more constructive role by persuading Israel to agree to a cease-fire.

The US should recognize that it is standing on both the wrong side of world opinion and history with its intransigence.