The United States blocked a United Nations Security Council resolution on October 18, preventing a call for humanitarian ceasefires in the Israel-Palestine conflict, aimed at allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza.
The vote on the resolution, proposed by Brazil, was postponed twice in recent days while the United States attempted to negotiate aid access to Gaza. On October 18, twelve members voted in favor of the resolution, with Russia and Britain abstaining. U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, stated that they were actively engaged in diplomatic efforts on the ground, emphasizing the importance of diplomacy to save lives and urging the council to support these direct diplomatic efforts. The United States traditionally shields Israel from Security Council actions.
Russia's U.N. Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, accused the United States of double standards and hypocrisy, referring to a Russian-drafted resolution for a humanitarian ceasefire that failed to pass on October 16.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and humanitarian aid access to Gaza. Russia requested an emergency special session of the 193-member U.N. General Assembly to address the conflict, where no countries possess veto power. General Assembly resolutions are non-binding but carry political significance.
U.N. Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland warned of a significant and perilous risk of the conflict expanding, potentially altering the course of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Middle East as a whole.
China's U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun criticized the United States for not expressing opposition during negotiations and then vetoing the resolution, describing it as "unbelievable."
Thomas-Greenfield expressed disappointment that the draft resolution did not acknowledge Israel's right to self-defense and attributed the Gaza humanitarian crisis to Hamas.
International diplomatic efforts aim to secure a humanitarian pause near the Rafah border crossing to facilitate aid delivery. Egypt stated that Rafah, due to Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza side, has become inoperable.
U.N. aid chief Martin Griffiths urged the need for an agreed-upon mechanism to provide emergency relief throughout Gaza.
The draft resolution also urged Israel to withdraw its directive for civilians and U.N. staff in Gaza to relocate to the south of the enclave and condemned "terrorist attacks by Hamas."
Israel previously ordered around 1.1mn people in Gaza to move south in anticipation of a ground offensive following a significant Hamas attack on civilians in Israel. It has placed Gaza under siege and subjected it to heavy bombardment, vowing to eliminate Hamas after an attack on October 7. Palestinian officials report over 3,000 Palestinian casualties.
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