The United States has vetoed a UN Security Council resolution that demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The veto was cast because the resolution did not explicitly link the ceasefire to the release of hostages held by Hamas.
Furthermore, the resolution failed to condemn Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the event that triggered the ongoing conflict. The US also insisted on provisions requiring Hamas to disarm and withdraw from Gaza, which were absent from the resolution.
The remaining 14 members of the 15-nation Security Council voted in favor of the resolution, which characterized the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” and urged Israel to remove all impediments to the delivery of aid to the territory’s 2.1 million Palestinian residents.
The US previously vetoed a Gaza resolution in November, also citing the lack of a direct link between a ceasefire and the immediate, unconditional release of all hostages as the reason.
Similarily to the previous resolution, this resolution calls for the release of hostages seized by Hamas and other groups, but does not stipulate it as a condition for the ceasefire.
The Trump administration appears to be intensifying its efforts to mediate a peace agreement in Gaza after 20 months of conflict.
However, Hamas has proposed changes to a US-backed proposal, deeming it “totally unacceptable,” according to special envoy Steve Witkoff.
