By Farnaz Fassihi
On Wednesday, the United States exercised its veto power on a U.N. Security Council resolution advocating for an immediate and unconditional cease-fire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, where the humanitarian situation is deteriorating and fighting continues without pause.
Fourteen members of the Security Council were in favor of the resolution, while the only dissenting vote came from the United States.
The U.S. stated that it vetoed the resolution, the fifth one considered by the council, because it did not make the cease-fire conditional on the release of hostages taken in Gaza. Although the resolution does mention the release of all hostages, its language implies that such a release would only happen following the implementation of a cease-fire.
This veto marks the fourth instance in which the United States has blocked a council initiative to call for a cease-fire since the conflict erupted over a year ago, triggered by a Hamas attack on Israel that resulted in over 200 people being taken hostage. According to local health authorities, more than 40,000 individuals have lost their lives in Gaza during the conflict, and a U.N.-backed committee has cautioned that the region is facing a potential famine.
The veto coincides with Washington’s ongoing efforts to facilitate negotiations for a cease-fire and a plan for releasing the hostages. Approximately 100 hostages are still believed to be held in Gaza, with Israeli officials estimating that about a third of them may have died.
“We could not endorse a cease-fire without conditions that didn’t ensure the release of the hostages,” remarked Robert A. Wood, a U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. “These two pressing objectives are fundamentally interconnected. This resolution neglected that essential factor.”
The resolution proposed an immediate and unconditional cease-fire; the withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza; the provision of humanitarian aid without restrictions; and called for all parties to assist the beleaguered Palestinian aid agency UNRWA in executing its duties in the area.
This resolution was introduced by ten nonpermanent members of the Security Council: Algeria, Ecuador, Guyana, Japan, Malta, Mozambique, South Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Switzerland.
