The US again vetoed a UN Security Council resolution Thursday that had demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, saying that the effort did not go far enough in condemning Hamas. All 14 other members of the United Nations' most powerful body voted in favor of the resolution, which described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as "catastrophic" and called on Israel to lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians in the territory, the AP reports.
"Colleagues, US opposition to this resolution will come as no surprise," Morgan Ortagus, a senior US policy adviser, said before the vote took place. "It fails to condemn Hamas or recognize Israel's right to defend itself, and it wrongly legitimizes the false narratives benefiting Hamas, which have sadly found currency in this council." She added that other council members ignored US warnings about the language and instead adopted "performative action designed to draw a veto," per the AP. The resolution, drafted by the council's 10 elected members who serve two-year terms, went further than previous drafts to highlight what it calls the "deepening of suffering" of Palestinian civilians.
"Famine has been confirmed in Gaza—not projected, not declared, confirmed," Denmark's Ambassador Christina Markus Lassen told the council before the vote, per Reuters. In opposing similar resolutions since November, the US has complained that the demands, including a ceasefire, were not directly linked to the unconditional release of hostages and would only embolden Hamas militants. Danny Danon, Israel's ambassador to the UN, criticized the new resolution, saying that it would "not release the hostages and will not bring security to the region."
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