India on Tuesday voted in favor of a draft resolution in the United Nations General Assembly that demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict as well as the unconditional release of all hostages.

The 193-member UN General Assembly adopted the draft resolution, brought in by Egypt, at an Emergency Special Session in the United Nations on Tuesday. The resolution was adopted with 153 votes in favor, while 23 nations abstained and 10 voted against the text, according to a report by news agency PTI.

India's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ruchira Kamboj, said that there is an enormous humanitarian crisis and a large-scale loss of human lives. She further added that India has voted in favor of the resolution just adopted by the General Assembly.

"There was the terrorist attack in Israel on October 7, and concern for the hostages taken at the time. There is an enormous humanitarian crisis and a large-scale loss of civil lives, especially of women and children. There is the issue of observing international humanitarian law in all circumstances. And there is the endeavor to find a peaceful and lasting two-state solution to the longstanding Palestine question," said Ruchira Kamboj as quoted by the news agency ANI.

Stating that the challenge is to strike the right balance, she said that the gravity and complexity of what the international community faces are underlined by the secretary general invoking Article 99 of the Charter of the United Nations.

The resolution, sponsored among others by Algeria, Bahrain, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Palestine, demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and reiterated its demand that all parties comply with their obligations under international law, "notably with regard to the protection of civilians."

It also demanded the "immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, as well as ensuring humanitarian access."

However, the resolution did not name Hamas, and the US proposed an amendment to the draft resolution, calling for the insertion of the paragraph, "Unequivocally rejects and condemns the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas that took place in Israel starting 7 October 2023 and the taking of hostages," in the main text. India voted in favor of the amendment.

More than 1,200 people were killed, including 33 children, and thousands injured in the terror attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups on October 7. According to the Ministry of Health (MoH) in Gaza, so far, at least 18,205 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, about 70 per cent of whom are said to be women and children, and about 49,645 are reportedly injured, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said.
 

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