US vetoes UN Security Council resolution calling for Gaza ceasefire
14 other members back motion demanding release of hostages and unhindered aid; US envoy says will 'not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas, call for it to disarm'
The United States on Wednesday vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the release of all the hostages and unhindered aid access across the enclave.
"The United States has been clear we would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza," Acting US Ambassador to the UN Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote. "This resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire that reflects the realities on the ground, and embolden Hamas," she said of the text that was put forward by 10 countries on the 15-member council.
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 international organizations assert famine looms, and where aid has only trickled in since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade last month.
The Security Council vote came as Israel pushes ahead with an offensive in Gaza after ending a two-month truce in March. Gaza health authorities said Israeli strikes killed 45 people on Wednesday, while Israel said a soldier died in fighting.
- Israel says it is targeting terror operatives in the Strip, accusing them of hiding behind the civilian population.
Britain's UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward criticized the Israeli government's decisions to expand its military operations and severely restrict humanitarian aid as "unjustifiable, disproportionate and counterproductive."
Israel has rejected calls for an unconditional or permanent ceasefire, saying Hamas cannot stay in Gaza.
Israel's UN Ambassador Danny Danon told the council members who voted in favor of the draft: "You chose appeasement and submission. You chose a road that does not lead to peace. Only to more terror."
Hamas condemns the US veto
Hamas condemned the US veto, describing it as showing "the US administration's blind bias" towards Israel. The draft Security Council resolution had also demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and others.
The war in Gaza has raged since October 7, 2023, after Hamas terrorists invaded Israel, killed 1,200 and took 251 hostages back to the enclave.
Israel responded with a military campaign that has killed over 54,000 Palestinians, according to Hamas health authorities in Gaza. The figures cannot be independently verified and do not distinguish between combatants and civilians.
International pressure on Israel
Under global pressure, Israel allowed limited UN-led deliveries to resume on May 19. A week later a controversial new aid distribution system was launched by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation, backed by the US and Israel.
Israel has long accused Hamas of stealing aid. Israel and the US are urging the UN to work through the GHF, which is using private US security and logistics companies to transport aid into Gaza for distribution at so-called secure distribution sites.
"No one wants to see Palestinian civilians in Gaza go hungry or thirsty," Shea told the Security Council, adding that the draft resolution did not "acknowledge the disastrous shortcomings of the prior method of aid delivery."
- The UN and international aid groups have refused to work with the GHF because they say it is not neutral, militarizes aid, and forces the displacement of Palestinians.
Ahead of the U.N. Security Council vote, UN aid chief Tom Fletcher again appealed for the UN and aid groups to be allowed to assist people in Gaza, stressing that they have a plan, supplies and experience.
"Open the crossings – all of them. Let in lifesaving aid at scale, from all directions. Lift the restrictions on what and how much aid we can bring in. Ensure our convoys aren't held up by delays and denials," Fletcher said in a statement.
The UN has long blamed Israel and lawlessness in the enclave for hindering the delivery of aid into Gaza and its distribution throughout the war zone.
"Enough of suffering of civilians. Enough of food being used as a weapon. Enough is enough is enough," Slovenia's UN Ambassador Samuel Zbogar told the Security Council.
A similar humanitarian-focused draft resolution is now expected to be put to a vote in the 193-member UN General Assembly, where no countries have a veto power and it would likely pass, diplomats said.
Israel's ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon: "Don't waste more of your time, because no resolution, no vote, no moral failure, will stand in our way."
