US vetoes UN resolution on Gaza ceasefire over lack of link to hostage release
The UN Security Council voted 14-1 in favour of the resolution.
The United States has vetoed a UN resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in the war in Gaza on Wednesday because it is not linked to an immediate release of hostages taken captive by Hamas in Israel in October 2023.
The UN Security Council voted 14-1 in favour of the resolution sponsored by the 10 elected members on the 15-member council, but it was not adopted because of the US veto.
The resolution that was put to a vote “demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire to be respected by all parties, and further reiterates its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages”.
The resolution had been sponsored by the 10 elected members on the 15-member council. Unlike the five permanent members – the US, Russia, China, the UK and France – the elected members have no veto power.
The Security Council in June adopted its first resolution on a ceasefire plan aimed at ending the war between Israel and Hamas.
The US-sponsored resolution welcomed a ceasefire proposal announced by US President Joe Biden that the US said Israel had accepted. It called on the militant Palestinian group Hamas to accept the three-phase plan – but the war continues.
