UNSC fails to pass US resolution calling for immediate 6-week ceasefire in Gaza

The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) today failed to pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal after Russia and China vetoed the measure proposed by the United States, Reuters reports.

The resolution, which Guyana also abstained from voting for, called for an immediate and sustained ceasefire lasting roughly six weeks that would protect civilians and allow for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

It marked a toughening of Washington’s stance toward Israel. Earlier in the five-month-long Israeli aggression, the US was averse to the word ceasefire and vetoed measures that included calls for an immediate ceasefire.

“The vast majority of this council voted in favour of this resolution, but unfortunately Russia and China decided to exercise its veto,” US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council.

Before the vote, she said it would be a “historic mistake” for the council not to adopt the resolution.

Russia’s Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, also speaking before the vote, called on members not to vote in favour of the resolution.

He said the resolution was “exceedingly politicised” and contained an effective green light for Israel to mount a military operation in Rafah, a city on the southern tip of the Gaza Strip where more than half of its 2.3 million residents have been sheltering in makeshift tents after being forcibly evacuated from their homes across the Strip.

“This would free the hands of Israel and it would result in all of Gaza and its entire population having to face destruction, devastation, or expulsion,” Nebenzia told the meeting.

He said a number of non-permanent members of the Security Council had drafted an alternative resolution, which he called a balanced document, and said there was no reason for members not to support it.

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China’s ambassador to the UN said the text proposed by the US was unbalanced and criticised it for not clearly stating its opposition to any military operation by Israel in Rafah, which he said could lead to severe consequences.

“The US draft … sets up preconditions for a ceasefire, which is no different from giving a green light to continued killings, which is unacceptable,” Ambassador Zhang Jun said after the vote. He said Beijing supported the alternative resolution.

But Thomas-Greenfield said that measure fell short.

“In its current form, that text fails to support sensitive diplomacy in the region. Worse … it could actually give Hamas an excuse to walk away from the deal on the table,” she said.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said yesterday he believed talks in Qatar, which are focused on a six-week truce and the release of 40 Israeli prisoners of war and hundreds of jailed Palestinians, could still forge an agreement.

The US resolution had backed talks brokered by the US, Egypt and Qatar over a ceasefire.

A diplomat said a resolution drafted by the ten elected members of the Security Council under Mozambique’s coordination could be brought forward for a vote this afternoon.

The draft resolution, obtained by Reuters, demands an immediate ceasefire for the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the release of all hostages and emphasises the need to expand the flow of humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

Washington has vetoed three draft resolutions since 7 October, two of which would have demanded an immediate ceasefire, claiming they would jeopardise truce talks. It has wanted any Security Council support for a ceasefire to be linked to the release of prisoners of war held by Hamas in Gaza.

After the vote, French President Emmanuel Macron said Paris will work with Jordan and the United Arab Emirates to convince Russia and China to back a resolution at the UN for a ceasefire in Gaza.

“Following the Russian and Chinese veto a few minutes ago, we are going to resume work on the basis of the French draft resolution in the Security Council and work with our American, European and Arab partners to reach an agreement,” Macron said. Work on the resolution had begun yesterday.

Commenting on the lack of progress on a ceasefire resolution, Save the Children Country Director in the occupied Palestinian territory, Xavier Joubert, said: “Once again, children in Gaza have been abandoned by the people whose responsibility it is to protect them. Once again, the international community has failed to perform its most basic duty. Children will continue to be killed, maimed, struck down by preventable diseases, and face starvation because of this failure today.”

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