The United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution today that called for a ceasefire in Israel’s war in Gaza, accusing Council members of cynically rejecting efforts to achieve a compromise.
The 15-member Security Council voted on a draft resolution proposed by the Council’s 10 non-permanent members, which called for an “immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire” and separately demanded “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”
The resolution received 14 votes in favor, but the US, as a permanent member, cast the sole veto, effectively blocking its adoption. The resolution had already sparked anger in Israel, which saw it as unfavorable.
“This text is nothing but a betrayal,” said Israel’s UN Ambassador, Danny Danon, ahead of the vote, relying on Washington to block the resolution, which he claimed would mean “abandoning” the hostages.
A senior US official, speaking to reporters on condition of anonymity before the vote, said the US would only support a resolution that explicitly called for the immediate release of hostages as part of the ceasefire.
“As we have stated many times in the past, we simply cannot support an unconditional ceasefire that does not require the immediate release of hostages,” the official said.
Meanwhile, the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas accused the US of being “directly responsible” for Israel’s “genocidal war” in Gaza after the American veto of the UN resolution.
“Once again, the US demonstrates that it is a direct partner in the aggression against our people, that it is complicit in crimes, killing children and women, destroying lives in Gaza, and directly responsible for the genocidal war and ethnic cleansing alongside the occupying forces [Israel],” Hamas said in a statement.
Shortly before this statement, medical sources in Gaza reported that seven Palestinians were killed by an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza. The strike targeted a group of people in Al-Mawasi, an area designated as a “safe camp.” Among the victims was at least one girl.
(CNA-APE-MPE-GPE-Reuters/AAR/MK)
