Following the US veto of a Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire last week, officials and diplomats announced on Sunday that the UN General Assembly will convene on Tuesday to address the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

The representatives of Egypt and Mauritania, "in their respective capacities as Chair of the Arab Group and Chair of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation," have called a special meeting of the General Assembly for Tuesday afternoon, according to a spokesperson for the Assembly president.

Diplomatic sources say that a resolution proposing a ceasefire could be put to a vote by the General Assembly during the meeting, as its resolutions are not legally binding.

A draft of the text obtained by AFP closely resembles the language of Friday's vetoed Security Council resolution, "expressing grave concern over the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip."

It calls for “an immediate humanitarian cease-fire” as well as the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”

On Friday, the US vetoed the ceasefire resolution, which came after UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres convened an emergency Security Council meeting, invoking the rarely-used UN Charter Article 99 to bring to the council's attention "any matter which, in his opinion, may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."

Guterres later stated that the body's "authority and credibility" have been "severely undermined" by its delayed response to the war.

The General Assembly called for a "immediate, durable, and sustained humanitarian truce leading to a cessation of hostilities" between Israel and Hamas in another resolution at the end of October.

The Security Council broke its silence on the war for the first time two weeks later, calling for "extended pauses and humanitarian corridors" — less specific language than a ceasefire or a truce.