US again vetoes UN Security Council call for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

The 14 other members of the Council backed the resolution, which also called for the immediate release of the hostages still being held by Hamas.

THE UNITED STATES has again wielded its veto and thwarted a UN Security Council call for a ceasefire in Gaza, shielding its ally Israel from meaningful diplomatic pressure.

The 14 other members of the Council backed the resolution, initiated in August in response to the UN’s official declaration of famine after nearly two years of Israel’s offensive in the Palestinian territory.

The vote came as Israeli tanks and jets pounded Gaza City, the target of a major new ground offensive, forcing Palestinians to flee south.

The resolution text seen by AFP had demanded “an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties” as well as the immediate and unconditional release of hostages still being held by Hamas.

The US has repeatedly rejected that approach multiple times, most recently in June when it used its veto to back Israel.

“Let this resolution send a clear message, a message that the Security Council is not turning its back on starving civilians, on the hostages and the demand for a ceasefire,” Denmark’s UN ambassador Christina Lassen said ahead of the vote.

“A generation risks being lost not only to war – but to hunger and despair. Meanwhile Israel has expanded its military operation in Gaza City, further deepening the suffering of civilians as a result.

“It is this catastrophic situation, this humanitarian and human failure that has compelled us to act today.”

‘Genocide’

The previous US veto sparked an unusual show of anger from the 14 other members of the council, who are increasingly vocal in their frustration over their apparent inability to pressure Israel to stop the suffering of Gaza’s inhabitants.

For the first time on Tuesday, a UN-mandated international investigative commission gave its independent analysis, accusing Israel of committing “genocide” in Gaza since October 2023 with the intent to “destroy” the Palestinians.

The issue will be central to next week’s annual UN summit in New York.

“Resolutions against Israel will not release the hostages and will not bring security to the region,” said Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, ahead of the vote.

It comes as a number of countries, including the UK and France, are expected to formally recognise a Palestinian state at the UN General Assembly this month.

French President Emmanuel Macron insisted today that recognising a Palestinian state would isolate Hamas and reiterated his condemnation of Israel’s devastating offensive in Gaza.

“Recognising a Palestinian state is just deciding to say: ‘The legitimate perspective of Palestinian people and what they suffer today has nothing to do with Hamas,’” Macron said in English in an interview with Israeli television’s Channel 12.

Recognition of a Palestinian state is the best way to isolate Hamas.

With Israeli settlers pushing to occupy Palestinian territory in the West Bank, Macron said it was now the “last minute before proposing the two states would become totally impossible”.

Israel’s offensive in Gaza has killed at least 65,141 people, the majority of whom were civilians, according to figures from the Palestinian health ministry that the UN considers reliable.

“This type of operations in Gaza is totally counterproductive” and “a failure”, Macron said.

“You are completely destroying the image and the credibility of Israel, not just in the region, but in public opinion everywhere.”