Washington vetoes Gaza truce resolution

A draft resolution calling for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza failed to pass the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday after a United States veto.

The text of the resolution, co-sponsored by nonpermanent, elected council members Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia — known as the E-10 — received 14 votes in favor from the 15-member council.

The US has vetoed five Gaza ceasefire resolutions.

"China is deeply disappointed by the result of today's vote. … These are the most pressing demands of the people in Gaza, who are struggling amid death and despair, and they reflect the overwhelming voice of the international community," said Fu Cong, China's permanent representative to the UN.

"The United States has once again abused its veto power, extinguishing the glimmer of hope for the people in Gaza and ruthlessly continuing to leave over 2 million people in darkness. It must face the questioning from the international community," he said.

In order to pass, a Security Council resolution must receive nine votes in favor from the 15 members and no vetoes from the five permanent members — the UK, China, France, Russia and the US.

"We believe this text reflects the consensus shared by all council members that the war in Gaza has to come to an immediate halt, all hostages must be immediately and unconditionally released, and civilians in Gaza must not starve and must have full and unimpeded access to aid," the E-10 said in a statement.

Fu said that for more than 600 days, more than 54,000 people in Gaza have died.

"Israel continues to escalate its offensive and blockade, turning Gaza into a living hell. Innocent civilians are killed in the conflict every day, while a large portion of the population is on the brink of famine," he said.

"Recently, there have been repeated incidents of civilian casualties near (food) distribution sites, and this mechanism has even become a death trap. The brutal facts have clearly shown that military means is not the solution," Fu said. "This conflict has long exceeded the limits of a hostage rescue operation. Israel must immediately cease military operations and fully restore access to humanitarian supplies."

'Just a trickle'

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Tuesday that the needs in Gaza are enormous and what's getting into Gaza from the UN "is still just a trickle".

Since the blockade was partly lifted, Dujarric said, just over 620 truckloads have made it from Israel to the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, and only about 370 truckloads, mainly with flour, food and medical and nutrition items — have gotten closer to people in need, with some looted by armed gangs.

"The unimpeded entry of humanitarian assistance at scale must be restored immediately," Dujarric said. "The UN must be allowed to work in safety and in security under conditions of full respect for humanitarian principles."

Fu said that since the outbreak of the conflict, humanitarian aid has been weaponized, civilian infrastructure such as schools and hospitals targeted, and journalists and humanitarian workers killed.

"Israel's actions have crossed every red line of international humanitarian law and seriously violated Security Council and General Assembly resolutions, as well as the provisional measures ordered by the ICJ (International Court of Justice)," he said.

"Yet due to the shielding by one certain country, these violations have not been stopped or held accountable," he said. "Observing international humanitarian law is an obligation that all parties must fulfill."

"Today's vote result once again exposes that the root cause of the council's inability to quell the conflict in Gaza is the repeated obstruction by the US, which has vetoed the council's request for a ceasefire multiple times," he said.

Pakistan's ambassador to the UN Asim Iftikhar Ahmad meanwhile said the failed resolution would "remain not only a moral stain on the conscience of this council, but a fateful moment of political application that will reverberate for generations".

"The council was prevented from shouldering its responsibility, despite the fact that most of us seem to be converging on one view," said France's ambassador to the UN Jerome Bonnafont.

The draft resolution had demanded "an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties".

It also called for the "immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups", and demanded the lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

The US veto came as Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli strikes killed at least 10 people in the battered Palestinian territory on Thursday as the military keeps up an intensified offensive.

Israel has stepped up its offensive in what it says is a bid to defeat Hamas, whose Oct 7, 2023, attack sparked the conflict. And It has faced mounting international pressure to end its war in Gaza.

That scrutiny has increased over flailing aid distribution in Gaza, which Israel blocked for more than two months before allowing a small number of UN vehicles to enter in mid-May.

Agencies contributed to this story.