The US has blocked a UN Security Council draft resolution on a Gaza ceasefire – the fourth time it has used its veto power during the conflict to save its ally Israel.
Fourteen of the 15 council members voted in favor of the draft, which called for an “immediate, unconditional and permanent end to the war in Gaza and the immediate and unconditional release of all remaining hostages.” What should be done”.
The deputy US ambassador to the United Nations, Robert Wood, said the document “abandoned” the need for a “link between the ceasefire and the release of the hostages”.
Wood said the proposed resolution would send a “dangerous message” to Hamas.
The UNSC consists of five permanent members who have veto power – and 10 who are elected.
The group submitted a draft resolution that “rejected any attempt to starve the Palestinians”.
The vote was held after the United Nations warned that Palestinians in parts of northern Gaza faced “decreasing survival conditions” under siege by Israeli forces. Virtually no aid was delivered in 40 days..
Earlier this month, a UN-backed assessment said there is a strong possibility that famine is imminent in the northern Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military has said its six-week offensive targets regrouping Hamas fighters, and is facilitating the evacuation of civilians and the delivery of supplies to hospitals.
After the US veto, China’s ambassador said people couldn’t help but ask: “Does Palestinian life mean nothing?”
France said international humanitarian law was being violated and the only response should have been an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
Britain said it wanted an end to the war, an end to the suffering in Gaza and the immediate release of all hostages.
But the harshest criticism of the US came from outside the council’s doors.
Louis Charbonneau, the UN director of Human Rights Watch (HRW), accused Washington of “once again” using its veto power to “ensure immunity for Israel as its forces attack Palestinians in Gaza.” “The crimes are continuing.”
Israel denies these allegations.
The current war began when Hamas gunmen crossed the border and attacked Israeli communities, killing about 1,200 people and taking 253 hostages in Gaza, according to Israeli figures.
More than 43,920 people have died in Gaza since then, according to the territory’s health ministry.
