US vetoes UN Security Council resolution on Gaza ceasefire

The US has vetoed the UN Security Council vote on the Gaza ceasefire resolution, ending with 14 votes for and one against.

It’s the fifth US veto on a Gaza UN ceasefire resolution in the past 13 months.

The US vetoed the Security Council draft resolution that would have demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and the release of all hostages, the UN News service said.

It summarised the UN resolution as follows:

• Recall the Security Council’s primary responsibility to uphold international peace and security and demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire to be respected by all parties and further reiterate its demand for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages

• Demand that the parties fully, unconditionally, and without delay implement all the provisions of Security Council resolution 2735, leading to, inter alia, the release of hostages, the exchange of Palestinian prisoners, the return of the remains of hostages who have been killed, the return of Palestinian civilians to their homes and neighbourhoods in all areas of Gaza, including in the north, and a full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza

• Demand immediate access by the civilian population in the Gaza Strip to basic services and humanitarian assistance indispensable to its survival, while rejecting any effort to starve Palestinians, and further demands the facilitation of full, rapid, safe and unhindered entry of humanitarian assistance at scale to and throughout the Gaza Strip and its delivery to all Palestinian civilians who need it, including to civilians in besieged north Gaza, who are in urgent need of immediate humanitarian relief, under the coordination of the United Nations.