The United States vetoed on Thursday a draft United Nations Security Council resolution that would have demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and that Israel lift all restrictions on aid deliveries to the Strip.
The text, drafted by the elected 10 members of the 15-member council, would also have demanded the immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups.
It received 14 votes in favour. It was the sixth time the U.S. had cast a veto in the Security Council over the nearly two-year war between Israel and Palestinian militants Hamas.
"Famine has been confirmed in Gaza - not projected, not declared, confirmed," Denmark's U.N. Ambassador Christina Markus Lassen told the council before the vote.
"Meanwhile, Israel has expanded its military operation in Gaza City, further deepening the suffering of civilians. As a result, it is this catastrophic situation, this humanitarian and human failure, that has compelled us to act today," she said.
Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine, and it will likely spread, a global hunger monitor determined last month.
The Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour said the move was heartbreaking.
''This draft resolution represents the bare minimum that humanity, legality and morality dictate. It is deeply regrettable and painful that it has been blocked, preventing the Security Council from playing its rightful role in the face of these atrocities and to protect civilians in the face of genocide.''
U.S. shields Israel
The United States traditionally shields its ally Israel at the United Nations. But in a rare move last week it backed a Security Council statement condemning recent strikes on Qatar, though the text it did not mention Israel was responsible.
The move reflected U.S. President Donald Trump's unhappiness with the attack ordered by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. However, the U.S. veto on Thursday showed that just a week later Washington was again staunchly giving diplomatic protection to Israel.
"Hamas is responsible for starting and continuing this war. Israel has accepted proposed terms that would end the war, but Hamas continues to reject them. This war could end today if Hamas freed the hostages and laid down its arms," U.S. diplomat Morgan Ortagus told the council before the vote.
Israel was not happy with the Security Council statement on the strikes on Qatar, Israel's U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon told reporters on Thursday, adding, "But I think, overall, the level of cooperation with the U.S. is so high that we were OK with that."
Danon said that after Netanyahu addressed the annual U.N. General Assembly gathering of world leaders next week the prime minister would travel to Washington to meet with Trump on 29 September. Netanyahu said earlier this month he had been invited by Trump to visit the White House.
The U.N. Security Council is also due to hold a high-level meeting on Gaza on Tuesday while world leaders are in New York.
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The White House says deploying United States ground troops in Iran is not currently part of the military strategy in the ongoing conflict with Tehran.
Israel has warned residents to leave a significant area in southern Lebanon, instructing them to move north of the Litani River as hostilities with the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah intensified on Wednesday.
A U.S. submarine strike sank an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, leaving at least 80 dead, the country’s deputy foreign minister said. Meanwhile, Iran postponed the funeral of its late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, according to state media.
The election of Iran’s next supreme leader could provide an opportunity to end the ongoing regional war involving Israel, the U.S. and Iran, Türkiye’s Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan has said.
U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. military has enough stockpiled weapons to fight wars "forever"; in a social media post late on Monday. The remarks came hours before conflict in Iran and the Middle East entered its fourth day.
U.S. first lady, Melania Trump chaired a UN Security Council meeting on children and education in conflict on Monday (2 March), a move criticised by Iran as hypocritical following U.S. and Israeli strikes that triggered a UN warning about risks to children.
A torpedo from a U.S. submarine sunk an Iranian warship off the coast of Sri Lanka, U.S. Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth told reporters as the Iranian conflcit entered its fifth day on Wednesday.
The U.S. embassy in Riyadh was hit by two drones resulting in a limited fire and some material damage, the kingdom's defence ministry said in a post on X on Tuesday, citing an initial assessment.
Shahid Motahari Sub-Speciality Hospital in northern Tehran and parts of the Golestan Palace were bombed on day two of the U.S.‑Israel strikes. AnewZ Touraj Shiralilou is in Iran's capital city and said that the facility was flattened in an airstrike.
The White House says deploying United States ground troops in Iran is not currently part of the military strategy in the ongoing conflict with Tehran.
Israel has warned residents to leave a significant area in southern Lebanon, instructing them to move north of the Litani River as hostilities with the Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah intensified on Wednesday.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth says the United States is making gains in its conflict with Iran after a key Iranian naval target was destroyed, confirming that the strike was carried out by a U.S. submarine off the coast of Sri Lanka. Rescue efforts are now under way for the ship’s crew.
Start your day informed with AnewZ Morning Brief. Here are the top news stories for the 4th of February, covering the latest developments you need to know.
Strikes across the Middle East are intensifying, fuelling travel disruption, driving up global energy prices and forcing diplomatic missions to shut their doors.
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