A majority of 17 out of 27 EU countries backed a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution in New York calling for "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza on Tuesday (12 December), while two voted against, and eight abstained. A majority of 17 out of 27 EU countries backed a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution in New York calling for "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza on Tuesday (12 December), while two voted against, and eight abstained.

EU and wider global support for Israel has sharply eroded over the past two months of horrors in the Gaza war, a UN vote has shown.

A majority of 17 out of 27 EU countries backed a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution in New York calling for "an immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza on Tuesday (12 December), while two voted against, and eight abstained.

This compared to eight EU countries in favour, four against, and 15 abstentions when the UNGA voted on a similar ceasefire resolution on 27 October.

The eight former EU-abstainers who went over to the yes-side on Tuesday were: Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Greece, Latvia, Poland, and Sweden (despite having a rightwing government in Stockholm).

Croatia jumped from no to yes.

Hungary, formerly Israel's staunchest EU ally, abstained instead of voting no, as previously.

Overall, the UNGA resolution passed by 153 votes in favour, 10 against, and 23 abstentions.

This compared to 120 in favour, 14 against, and 45 abstentions last time round.

The shift meant more than three-quarters of the UN's 193 members were now against continuing the war.

And it left Israel in a tiny minority, with only three Western countries — the US, Austria, and the Czech Republic — still saying it was acceptable to prolong the conflict.

Israel's other backers were: Guatemala, Liberia, Micronesia (Federated States of), Nauru, Papua New Guinea, and Paraguay.

And even US president, Joe Biden, warned that Israel's tactics meant it risked losing the EU.

"Israel's security can rest on the United States, but right now it has more than the United States. It has the European Union, it has Europe," he said in the margins of an event in Washington on Tuesday, according to Reuters.

"But they're starting to lose that support by indiscriminate bombing that takes place," he said.

Israel has killed at least 18,000 Palestinians in Gaza, 70 percent of them women and children, and displaced 1.9 million people, according to UN and EU-cited figures.

Palestinian group Hamas, which rules Gaza, killed some 1,200 Israelis and captured 240 hostages on 7 October.

Biden's accusation of "indiscriminate bombing" by Israel comes on top of increasing EU calls that Israel is violating the laws of modern warfare, the Geneva Conventions, by its disproportionate response, collective punishment, and forced displacement of Palestinians.