The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a draft resolution urging Israel to provide unrestricted humanitarian access to the Gaza Strip.
Passed on Friday, the resolution also calls on Israel to uphold the integrity of UN premises and comply with its obligations under international law.
This measure was introduced in response to a recent advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice (ICJ), reaffirming Israel's responsibilities as both an "occupying power" and a member of the United Nations.
Backed by Norway and over 12 other states, the resolution received support from 139 countries, while 12 voted against it and 19 abstained.
Ahead of the vote, Norway's Permanent Representative, Ambassador Merete Fjeld Brattested, warned that 2024 was among the "most violent" years in three decades, with 2025 continuing in a similar trend.
She, however, pointed to indications that the current trajectory may ease in the coming year and added, “The situation in occupied Palestine is a particular point in mind."
"Civilians are paying the highest price. Respect for humanitarian principles is eroding. The most fundamental tenets of humanitarian law are under pressure," the Norwegian diplomat said, stressing that advisory proceedings before the ICJ serve as a tool to clarify legal responsibilities.
Brattested emphasized that UN member states had requested clarity on essential questions regarding the delivery of life-saving humanitarian aid to civilians in Palestine.
She also underscored the urgency of the Court’s conclusions by pointing to recent incidents, including Secretary General Antonio Guterres’ denunciation of Israel’s “unauthorized entry” into the headquarters of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees, located in occupied al-Quds's Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood.
"As stated by the secretary-general, this is in clear violation of Israel's obligations to respect the inviolability of United Nations premises," she said, urging all member states to back the resolution.
The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) on Tues warned that thousands of children in Gaza are acutely malnourished, driven by Israel’s ongoing restrictions on food and humanitarian supplies despite a ceasefire agreement that was supposed to allow aid to move freely.
UNICEF said that roughly 9,300 children have been treated for acute malnutrition in Gaza since October, an alarming figure for a besieged population already pushed to its limits.
The ceasefire between the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and Israel, which took effect on October 10, 2025, obligated Israel to open border crossings and permit unrestricted entry of food, fuel, and humanitarian supplies.
Yet Israel has ignored these commitments, keeping most crossings shut and allowing only limited shipments into a territory devastated by nearly two years of war and genocide.
Since October 2023, the Israeli army has killed about 70,400 Palestinians, most of them women and children, and injured 171,000 others in the two-year war in Gaza that has reduced much of the blockaded Palestinian territory to rubble.
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