The US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution Thursday that demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, being the only member of the council to not support the ceasefire. The vote took place as the 15-member council convened for its 10,000th meeting, where the famine and possibility of genocide in Gaza were discussed.

The draft resolution additionally demanded that Israel allow for the distribution of humanitarian aid to Gaza and for the release of all hostages by Hamas. However, US deputy envoy Morgan Ortagus stated that her nation’s opposition to the resolution should “come as no surprise,” considering it did not condemn Hamas nor recognize Israel’s right to self-defense. Ortagus claimed:

This resolution also refuses to acknowledge and seeks to return to a failed system that has allowed Hamas to enrich and strengthen itself at the expense of civilians in need … [and] wrongly legitimizes the false narratives benefiting Hamas, which have sadly found currency in this Council. 

The Israeli ambassador thanked Ortagus for utilizing the US’s veto power.

The US is one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council (P5) that retain the power to veto, as well as China, France, Russia, and the United Kingdom. A veto from any of the P5 will unilaterally block a substantive resolution. This marks the sixth time the US has vetoed a council Gaza ceasefire resolution, with the last time being in June. The council’s remaining 10 non-permanent members—Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia—initiated the draft.

The Danish ambassador, Christina Markus Lassan, responded on behalf of the 10-nonpermanent members:

Even though this resolution was not adopted today at this 10,000th meeting of the Council, 14 members of this Council have sent a clear message… We want to see an immediate and lasting ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and the urgent lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian aid.  We will continue to work for this for however many Council meetings it may take.

Israel’s war on Gaza escalated on October 7, 2023, with the death toll in Gaza reaching at least 65,174 people, including 19,424 children, in the past two years. On Monday, the UN independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory reported that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza, calling for its end under international law.

After the vote, various countries, including Algeria and the UK, expressed remorse for failing the Palestinian people. They emphasized the importance of committing to a resolution amid the “entirely man-made famine,” and “Israel’s reckless expansion of military operations.”

Furthermore, Palestinian ambassador Riyad Mansour expressed his regret that the US veto prevented the protection of the Palestinian people. He remarked that Palestine will be present at the UN’s 80th anniversary and “it will be the biggest elephant in New York City.”