The United States on Wednesday vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution that demanded an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” between Israel and Hamas militants in Gaza and unhindered aid access across the war-torn enclave.
The other 14 countries on the council voted in favor of the draft as a humanitarian crisis grips the enclave of more than 2 million people, where famine looms and aid has only trickled in since Israel lifted an 11-week blockade last month.
“The United States has been clear: We would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote, arguing that it would also undermine U.S.-led efforts to broker a ceasefire.
Washington is Israel’s biggest ally and arms supplier.
The Security Council vote came as Israel pushes ahead with an offensive in Gaza after ending a two-month truce in March. Gaza health authorities said Israeli strikes killed 45 people on Wednesday, while Israel said a soldier died in fighting.
Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Barbara Woodward criticized the Israeli government’s decisions to expand its military operations in Gaza and severely restrict humanitarian aid as “unjustifiable, disproportionate and counterproductive.”
Israel has killed over 54,000 Palestinians since October 2023, according to Gaza health authorities. They say civilians have borne the brunt of the attacks and that thousands more bodies have been lost under rubble.
