The UN Human Rights Council has demanded a halt to all arms sales to Israel, highlighting warnings of "genocide" in the Gaza war in which more than 33,000 people have died, AFP reports.
The resolution, which was adopted with 28 of the council's 47 member states voting in favor, six against and 13 abstaining, marked the first time the UN's top human rights body has taken a position on the bloodiest war in the besieged Palestinian territory.
Meirav Eilon Shahar, Israel's ambassador to the UN in Geneva, branded the resolution "a stain on the Human Rights Council and the UN as a whole."
Key ally Washington heeded Israel's call to vote no, as did Germany, Argentina, Bulgaria, Malawi and Paraguay.
The strongly worded text calls on states to "cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, ammunition and other military equipment to Israel... in order to prevent further violations of international humanitarian law and human rights violations and abuses."
It highlights that in January the International Court of Justice ruled that "there is a credible risk of genocide" in Gaza.
The resolution, tabled by Pakistan on behalf of all Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states except Albania, also calls for an "immediate ceasefire" and "immediate urgent humanitarian access and assistance".
"We need you all to wake up and stop this genocide, a genocide that is being televised all over the world," Palestinian Ambassador Ibrahim Mohammed Hraishi told the Council before the vote.
Shahar, meanwhile, told council members that "a yes vote is a vote for Hamas."
U.S. Ambassador Michelle Taylor agreed that "too many civilians have been killed in this conflict and that every civilian death is a tragedy," acknowledging that "Israel has not done enough to reduce civilian casualties."
But she said Washington could not support the text, which she said contained "many problematic elements," including that it did not specifically condemn Hamas and its October 7 attacks.
The vote took place after the UN Security Council in New York last week also passed a final resolution calling for a ceasefire, thanks to Washington's abstention.
The war in Gaza began after a Hamas attack on 7 October that left some 1,170 people dead, mostly civilians, according to an Israeli count.
Palestinian militants also took more than 250 hostages on October 7, and 130 remain in Gaza, including 34 who the army says are dead.
Since then, Israel's relentless military assault has claimed at least 33,091 lives, mostly women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip.
Although the Human Rights Council resolution does not mention Hamas by name, it condemns the firing of rockets into Israeli civilian areas and demands 'the immediate release of all remaining hostages'.
The resolution repeatedly mentions Israel's name, demanding that the country end its occupation of all Palestinian territories and 'immediately lift the blockade of Gaza and all other forms of collective punishment'.
The text, which was revised on 4 April, removing several references to genocide, continues to express "grave concern at statements by Israeli officials that amount to incitement to genocide".
It calls on the parties to "prevent the continued forcible transfer of Palestinians into and out of Gaza".
It warned in particular "against any large-scale military operations in the city of Rafah" in the southern part of the densely populated Gaza Strip, which shelters more than a million civilians, warning of "devastating humanitarian consequences".
The resolution also condemned "the use of starving civilians as a method of warfare in Gaza", where the UN has warned that a famine is imminent.
The text insists on "the need for credible, timely and comprehensive accountability for all violations of international law" in Gaza.
It calls on UN war crimes investigators - tasked with examining the rights situation in the occupied Palestinian territory even before 7 October - to look into all "direct and indirect transfers or sales of weapons, ammunition, parts, components, and dual-use items to Israel, and to "analyze the legal implications of these transfers". / BGNES
