LAST UPDATE | 4 Jun

THE UNITED NATIONS Security Council has not passed a resolution calling for a ceasefire and unfettered access to aid in Gaza after the US vetoed the motion.

It was the only nation on the 15-member body to oppose the resolution.

Tonight marked the body’s first vote on the subject since November, when the US also blocked a text calling for an end to fighting.

The new resolution 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”.

Underlining a “catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the Palestinian territory, the resolution additionally demands the lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Speaking during the meeting this evening, the US representative – who is a permanent member of the council – said it ‘expectedly’ was opposed to the resolution as it did not condemn militant group Hamas.

It labelled the resolution “performative”, which disrupts ongoing peace efforts in the Middle East. The US said “no true negotiations” took place over the agreement.

“The United States has been clear. We will not support any measure that does not fully condemn Hamas,” the representative said.

It was the only nation to oppose the motion. As the US is a permanent member of the Security Council, its opposition meant the resolution was vetoed and not passed.

Speaking after the vote, the representative for Algeria said: “The draft resolution that was halted today was not the voice of the few, but the collective will of the entire world, north and south, east and west.

“Fourteen out of the 15 security council members. It was a message to the people of Palestine, you are not alone. You are not alone.

“And it was a message to the Israeli occupied, the world watches your shield of impunity. It reveals why the Israeli occupiers continue with this crime.

“Because it has never fully faced justice, because always felt protected while the victims were buried, with no names, no headlines, no economy, no investigation and no accountability. 

He added: “For the killing of Palestinian children, the Council should have acted to impose a ceasefire in Gaza. For starvation not to be legitimised as a weapon, the Council should have acted to impose a ceasefire in Gaza.

“The future generations [should not] grow up scorning international law, the Council should have imposed a ceasefire in Gaza.”

Aid centres closed

The US proposed that UN Security Council members should redirect its support to the controversial US-Israeli-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), in order to assist with the rollout of aid in the territory.

GHF closed its aid distribution centres after Palestinians – many of whom were desperate to recieve aid after Israel lifted its over two-month blockade on the region – were killed while queueing for life-saving supplies.

The Red Cross denounced the decision by the GHF to close the centres as “surpassing any acceptable legal, moral and humane standard”.

The Israeli army, which confirmed the closure, warned against travelling “on roads leading to the distribution centres, which are considered combat zones”.

Israeli soliders fired on crowds multiple times in the areas near centres run by the highly controversial GHF since it began operating in the Palestinian territory last week.

27 people were killed in southern Gaza yesterday near one of the centres, an incident which UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres called a “war crime”, and which UN human rights chief Volker Turk described as “unconscionable.”

“Attacks directed against civilians constitute a grave breach of international law and a war crime,” Turk said.

Reacting to the GHF closure of its aid distribution centres, Mirjana Spoljaric, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said the treatment of Palestinians in Gaza is “surpassing any acceptable legal, moral and humane standard”.

She said: “There is no excuse for depriving children [of] their access to food, health and security.”

‘It’s a trap’

At a hospital in southern Gaza, the family of Reem al-Akhras, who was killed in the shooting at Rafah’s Al-Alam roundabout near the GHF facility, were beside themselves with grief.

“She went to bring us some food, and this is what happened to her,” her son Zain Zidan said, his face streaked with tears.

Akhras’s husband, Mohamed Zidan, said “every day unarmed people” were being killed.

“This is not humanitarian aid – it’s a trap.”

UN human rights chief Volker Turk called such attacks against civilians “unconscionable” and said they “constitute a grave breach of international law and a war crime”.

The International Committee of the Red Cross meanwhile said “Gazans face an “unprecedented scale and frequency of recent mass casualty incidents”.

The UN Security Council will vote today on a resolution calling for a ceasefire and humanitarian access to Gaza, a measure expected to be vetoed by the United States.

With reporting from Muiris Ó Cearbhaill Keith Kelly and AFP