The United States on Wednesday vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an immediate and unconditional cease-fire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and the resumption of full-scale humanitarian aid deliveries to the enclave.
Ten nonpermanent members of the 15-seat Council had put forth the resolution for a vote. It was the first time since President Trump took office that the Council had considered a cease-fire resolution on the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza.
The United States was the only member to vote against the measure; the other 14 members of the Council, including Russia, voted in favor, once again highlighting Washington’s isolation on the global stage over its policy of unconditional support of Israel.
“We believe this text reflects the consensus shared by all Council members that the war in Gaza has to come to an immediate halt, all hostages must be immediately and unconditionally released, and civilians in Gaza must not starve and must have full and unimpeded access to aid,” said a joint statement from the 10 nonpermanent members, which was read by Slovenia’s ambassador to the U.N., Samuel Zbogar, at the Council meeting ahead of the vote.
A Security Council resolution must receive nine votes in favor and no vetoes from the five permanent members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — to be adopted. Since the war broke out after the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel, the United States has vetoed four Council resolutions calling for a cease-fire and has abstained from one, allowing it to pass, last June.
Dorothy Camille Shea, the interim U.S. representative at the U.N., repeated Washington’s message that Israel had the right to defend itself, and she blamed Hamas for the suffering of Palestinians, saying the war would end if the group surrendered.
“Any product that undermines our close ally Israel’s security is a non-starter,” Ms. Shea said, explaining the “no” vote.
Diplomats at the U.N. have watched in fury and frustration as the humanitarian situation in Gaza has deteriorated to levels where children are starving. Since March, Israel had enforced a ban on all aid delivery into territory, facing global backlash and accusations that its army was committing war crimes by weaponizing food and essential aid.
Israel justified blocking aid deliveries by claiming that Hamas hijacks it and has denied international assessments that Palestinians are on the brink of famine.
Council members have also been frustrated at the United States for blocking the body from acting in a deadly war that has killed more than 56,000 Palestinian lives, many of them women and children, according to Gazan officials, whose numbers do not distinguish between combatants and civilians. The Council members say, publicly and privately, that the United States is standing in the way of the will of the majority of the member states at the U.N.
“Today, the elected members of the Council have stood with clarity, with conviction, with courage — they are the proud bearer of moral legitimacy,” said Algeria’s ambassador to the U.N., Amar Bendjama, the only Arab representative at the Council. He said the resolution was not “the voice of the few, but the collective will of the entire world.”
Israel’s ambassador to the U.N., Danny Danon, told reporters ahead of the Council meeting on Wednesday that the resolution “doesn’t advance humanitarian relief — it undermines it.” He added, “It ignores a working system in favor of political agendas.”
A new U.S.-Israeli backed effort to control and distribute limited aid in Gaza through the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation was suspended on Wednesday, after a week of chaos and deadly violence.
Gazan officials said that on June 1, Israeli soldiers shot and killed more than 20 Palestinians standing in line to receive aid. The Israeli military said its troops had fired warning shots toward “suspects” who approached them.
On Tuesday, at least 27 people were killed as Palestinians walked toward a new food distribution site in southern Gaza, Gazan health officials said. Israel said its forces had fired near “a few” people who had strayed from the route to the site and did not respond to warning shots.
The U.N. has called for an independent investigation into the killings and has denounced this aid-distribution effort, saying that it violates international laws protecting the unhindered flow of aid and access for aid agencies in conflict zones.
“The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat,” the U.N.’s top humanitarian chief, Tom Fletcher, said in a statement on Wednesday. “We must be allowed to do our jobs. We have the teams, the plan, the supplies and the experience.”
The Trump administration has been trying without success to mediate a temporary cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. This week, Hamas — which has said it is willing to free the Israeli and foreign captives in Gaza as part of a broader deal — rejected the American plan, demanding guarantees for a permanent end to the war.
Farnaz Fassihi is the United Nations bureau chief for The Times, leading coverage of the organization, and also covers Iran and the shadow war between Iran and Israel. She is based in New York.
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