US vetoes UN Security Council resolution demanding Gaza ceasefire and full aid access

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The US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Wednesday demanding an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza and full humanitarian access, as aid groups warn of famine-like conditions in the enclave after months of war.

The resolution received 14 votes in favour, with only the US opposing it. The draft resolution, proposed by the 10 non-permanent council members, also urged the “immediate lifting of all restrictions” on humanitarian aid into Gaza, ensuring safe and large-scale distribution throughout the besieged enclave.

Washington’s veto blocked the measure, which required at least nine “yes” votes and no vetoes from the five permanent members – the US, Russia, China, Britain or France – to pass.

The veto is the first by Washington since US President Donald Trump took office in January. It is the fifth draft resolution on the Gaza war vetoed by the US since the conflict started in October 2023.

The Security Council has struggled to act on the conflict, with previous ceasefire attempts also failing.

Speaking to the council immediately before the vote, the US envoy to the UN, Dorothy Shea, said the resolution would undermine the security of Israel, a close US ally.

“US opposition to this resolution should come as no surprise,” Ms Shea told council members. “It is unacceptable for what it does say, it is unacceptable for what it does not say, and it is unacceptable for the manner in which it has been advanced.”

Ms Shea stressed the US has been clear that it would not support “any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza”.

“We cannot allow the Security Council to reward Hamas's intransigence,” she added.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio later said in a post on X: “This resolution would’ve only served to advance the interests of Hamas terrorists, while undermining diplomatic efforts. Any UN measure should clearly condemn Hamas and call for them to disarm and leave Gaza. The US will continue to stand with Israel.”

The text, drafted by Slovenia alongside Algeria and Guyana, repeated the council’s demand for the “immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups”.

“It was never our intention to provoke a veto,” Slovenia’s ambassador to the UN, Samuel Zbogar, told council members. “We were aware of different positions inside the council. This is why the draft resolution had only one focus, a humanitarian one.”

Mr Zbogar called on the council to “unite around this urgent demand for unimpeded humanitarian access and for food to be delivered to starving civilians”.

Starving civilians and inflicting immense suffering is inhumane, he said, and against international law.

“No war objective can justify such action,” Mr Zbogar added. “Fourteen votes in favour, however, carries a strong message. Enough of suffering of civilians. Enough of food being used as a weapon. Enough is enough is enough.”

Israel’s UN ambassador Danny Danon criticised the resolution and said the vote was “not diplomacy”.

“That is surrender,” he said. “And it sends a clear message to Hamas: reject every deal and the international community will still reward you.

“I must be very honest with you,” Mr Danon told council members. “Don't waste more of your energy. Don't waste more of your time, because no resolution, no vote, no moral failure, will stand in our way.”

Israel has come under mounting international pressure to halt its war in Gaza, a conflict sparked by a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

Criticism has intensified over the chaotic aid distribution in Gaza, where Israel imposed a complete blockade for more than two months before permitting a limited number of UN aid vehicles to enter in the middle of May.

The amount of aid Israel has authorised to enter Gaza amounts to “a teaspoon”, when a flood of humanitarian assistance is needed, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said last month.

Meanwhile, the US and Irsael-backed Gaza Humanitarian Fund has faced backlash for allegedly breaching established aid principles by co-ordinating relief efforts with a military party to the conflict.

Britain’s UN envoy, Barbara Woodward, called Israel's new aid system “inhumane” and stressed that “Israel needs to end its restrictions on aid now".

Palestine's UN ambassador, Riyad Mansour, said Palestinians are now urging governments to take “real measures” to pressure Israel to get out of Gaza before it implements what he called an Israeli plan “to destroy our people".

And in the coming days, he said, the Palestinians will head to the 193-member General Assembly, where there are no vetoes, with a similar humanitarian-focused resolution.

The war, now in its 20th month, has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza authorities. Hamas is still holding 58 hostages taken during the October 7 attacks, in which 1,200 people were killed. About a third of the captives are believed to still be alive.