UNITED NATIONS — The United Nations General Assembly will vote on Thursday on a draft resolution that demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza, a week after the United States vetoed a similar effort in the Security Council.

The 193-member General Assembly is likely to adopt the text with overwhelming support, diplomats say, despite Israel lobbying countries this week against taking part in what it called a “politically motivated, counterproductive charade.”

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 Hamas terrorists have been ignored. Unlike the UN Security Council, no country has a veto in the General Assembly.

Thursday’s vote also comes ahead of a UN conference next week that aims to reinvigorate an international push for a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians. The United States has urged countries not to attend.

In a note seen by Reuters, the US warned that “countries that take anti-Israel actions on the heels of the conference will be viewed as acting in opposition to US foreign policy interests and could face diplomatic consequences.”

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

The other 14 countries on the council voted in favor of the draft as a humanitarian crisis grips the enclave of more than 2 million people, where the UN warns famine looms, though previous assessments have been found to have been exaggerated and based on flawed data.

After a two-and-a-half-month blockade of Gaza aimed at pressuring Hamas into releasing the hostages and relinquishing power, Israel started allowing in some basic aid last month, while a US- and Israeli-backed aid group, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, began separately distributing aid from three sites.

The draft resolution to be voted on by the General Assembly on Thursday demands the release of hostages held by Hamas, the return of Palestinian prisoners detained by Israel, and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

It demands unhindered aid access and “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.”

“This is both false and defamatory,” Israel’s UN Ambassador Danny Danon wrote in a letter to UN member states on Tuesday, which was seen by Reuters.

Danon described the General Assembly draft resolution as an “immensely flawed and harmful text,” urging countries not to take part in what he said was a “farce” that undermines hostage negotiations and fails to condemn Hamas.

Shortly after the Hamas onslaught that sparked the war 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 last year, the body demanded — with 158 votes in favor — an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire.

Israel launched its war in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, Hamas assault on southern Israel that killed some 1,200 people and saw another 251 taken hostage. Terror groups in Gaza continue to hold 53 hostages, including the bodies of at least 33 confirmed dead by the IDF, and 20 who are believed to be alive. There are grave concerns for the well-being of two others, Israeli officials have said.

The Hamas-run Health Ministry says more than 55,000 people in the Strip have been killed or are presumed dead in the fighting so far, though the toll cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters. Israel says it has killed some 20,000 combatants in battle as of January and another 1,600 terrorists inside Israel during the October 7 onslaught.

Israel has said it seeks to minimize civilian fatalities and stresses that Hamas uses Gaza’s civilians as human shields, fighting from civilian areas, including homes, hospitals, schools, and mosques.

Israel’s toll in the ground offensive against Hamas in Gaza and in military operations along the border with the Strip stands at 429.