By Michelle Nichols

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) -The United Nations General Assembly on Thursday overwhelmingly demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza and aid access, after the United States vetoed a similar effort in the Security Council last week.

The 193-member General Assembly adopted a resolution that also demands the release of hostages held in Gaza by Hamas, the return of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

The text garnered 149 votes in favor, while 19 countries abstained and the U.S., Israel and 10 others voted against.

The resolution "strongly condemns the use of starvation of civilians as a method of warfare and the unlawful denial of humanitarian access and depriving civilians ... of objects indispensable to their survival, including willfully impeding relief supply and access."

Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told the General Assembly this was "blood libel." He had urged countries not to take part in what he said was a "farce" that undermines hostage negotiations and fails to condemn Hamas.

"It must be acknowledged that by failing to condition a ceasefire on the release of the hostages, you told every terrorist organization that abducting civilians works," he said.

General Assembly resolutions are not binding but carry weight as a reflection of the global view on the war. Previous demands by the body for an end to the war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas have been ignored. Unlike the U.N. Security Council, no country has a veto in the General Assembly.

TWO-STATE CONFERENCE

Libya's U.N. Ambassador Taher El-Sonni told the General Assembly before the vote that for "those pressing the red button today to vote against this resolution (it) will become a blood stain on their fingers."

The U.S. last week vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that also demanded an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" and unhindered aid access in Gaza, arguing it would undermine U.S.-led efforts to broker a ceasefire.

The other 14 member states voted in favor of the draft as a humanitarian crisis grips the enclave of more than 2 million people, where the U.N. warns famine looms and aid has only trickled in since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade last month.

Acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea told the General Assembly before the vote that the resolution "does nothing to free the hostages, improve the lives of civilians in Gaza, or bring us closer to a ceasefire, and is yet another performative action that erodes the credibility of this body."

The vote came ahead of a U.N. conference next week that aims to reinvigorate an international push for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. The U.S. has urged countries not to attend.

In October 2023, the General Assembly called for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza with 120 votes in favor. In December 2023, 153 countries voted to demand an immediate humanitarian ceasefire. Then in December 2024, it demanded - with 158 votes in favor - an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire.

The war in Gaza has raged since 2023 after Hamas militants killed 1,200 people in Israel in an October 7 attack and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies. Many of those killed or captured were civilians.

Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health authorities. They say civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks and that thousands more bodies have been lost under rubble.

(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Don Durfee and Nia Williams)