MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) — As the international community continues to put pressure on Israel for a humanitarian pause to get much needed aide into Gaza, the United Nations General Assembly is set to vote on a nonbinding resolution for an immediate cease-fire.
Friday marks day two of the United Nations General Assembly’s rare emergency meeting on the crisis in the Middle East.
The war sparked by Gaza’s Hamas rulers’ surprise attacks on Israel on Oct. 7 played out in the vast hall of the 193-nation General Assembly, where Arab nations expected to adopt a resolution Friday calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza after the Security Council’s four failed attempts to agree on any action.
If they pass a resolution for an immediate cease-fire, it won’t be legally binding but it will carry symbolic weight.
This all comes after representatives of both Palestine and Israel spoke before the body during a rare emergency special session on Thursday to address the Israel-Hamas war and the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
Among the speakers in attendance was Israel’s ambassador to the U.N. Gilad Erdan. He described the brutality of Hamas attacks on Israeli civilians.
At the assembly’s resumed emergency special session, speaker after speaker backed the Arab resolution’s cease-fire call – except for Erdan, who told the 193-member world body, “A cease-fire means giving Hamas time to rearm itself, so they can massacre us again.”
While General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, they do reflect world opinion and the size of the vote in favor will be closely watched.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian officials spoke about the devastation in Gaza due to the nonstop bombings.
In the midst of the meeting, rallies and demonstrations continued Thursday throughout the city.
Dozens gathered on Wall Street and marched through Washington Square Park to show their support for Palestine.
In Times Square, an empty Shabbat table was set up and placed with 224 seats, symbolizing the hostages being held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
More demonstrations are expected Friday.
(The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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