UNITED NATIONS/CAIRO/JERUSALEM, June 6: The United States on Wednesday vetoed a draft U.N. Security Council resolution demanding an “immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire” in Gaza, drawing criticism from global powers and aid agencies amid a worsening humanitarian crisis in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
The draft resolution, backed by 14 of the 15 Security Council members, also called for unhindered humanitarian access and the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups. The U.S. was the sole dissenting vote.
“The United States has been clear: We would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza,” Acting U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Dorothy Shea told the council before the vote. She warned that the resolution would undermine ongoing U.S.-led ceasefire negotiations.
Washington remains Israel’s closest ally and primary arms supplier. The veto comes as Israel continues its offensive in Gaza following the collapse of a two-month truce in March. Gaza’s health authorities said Israeli airstrikes killed at least 45 people on Wednesday, while Israel reported the death of one soldier.
Britain’s U.N. envoy Barbara Woodward criticized Israel’s military escalation and aid restrictions as “unjustifiable, disproportionate and counterproductive.”
Israel has opposed any call for a permanent ceasefire without the removal of Hamas. Israeli U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon accused countries supporting the draft of choosing “appeasement and submission,” warning such a path “does not lead to peace — only to more terror.”
Hamas condemned the U.S. veto as evidence of “the U.S. administration’s blind bias” toward Israel.
Aid Dispute Deepens
The war in Gaza erupted in October 2023 after Hamas militants killed around 1,200 people in southern Israel and abducted some 250 others, according to Israeli tallies. In response, Israel launched a sweeping military campaign that has killed more than 54,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.
Under international pressure, Israel partially lifted its blockade on May 19, allowing limited U.N.-led aid deliveries. A week later, the U.S. and Israel launched a parallel aid system managed by the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which relies on private U.S. contractors to distribute aid at “secure sites.”
While Israel and the U.S. claim the GHF model minimizes aid diversion by Hamas, U.N. agencies and international NGOs have refused to cooperate with the group, citing its lack of neutrality, militarization of aid delivery, and displacement of civilians.
No aid was distributed by GHF on Wednesday after a deadly incident on Tuesday. The foundation has urged the Israeli military to improve civilian safety protocols around its distribution sites. The GHF, which says it has distributed over seven million meals, cited “ongoing maintenance work” for further delays expected on Thursday.
Ceasefire Talks at an Impasse
Despite criticizing U.N.-led aid efforts, the current U.S. ceasefire proposal envisions the delivery of humanitarian assistance through the U.N., Red Crescent, and other agreed channels. Israel has accepted the plan, but Hamas has demanded amendments the U.S. called “totally unacceptable.”
U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher again appealed for full humanitarian access and a lifting of restrictions, warning that life-saving supplies were being obstructed by “delays and denials.”
“Open the crossings — all of them. Let in aid at scale. Enough of food being used as a weapon,” Fletcher said in a statement. Slovenia’s U.N. Ambassador Samuel Zbogar echoed that plea, urging the Council to end civilian suffering in Gaza: “Enough is enough is enough.”
Diplomats said a similar draft resolution may be brought before the 193-member U.N. General Assembly, where it is expected to pass since no country holds veto power. Danon dismissed the initiative: “Don’t waste more of your time, because no resolution, no vote, no moral failure, will stand in our way.”
