• Of 15 UNSC members, 14 backed resolution
• Israeli army designates roads leading to Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s aid centres ‘combat zones’
• UK minister seeks ‘independent’ probe into deadly incidents

UNITED NATIONS: The United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire and unrestricted humanitarian access in Gaza, which Washington claimed undermined ongoing diplomacy to resolve the conflict.

“This resolution would undermine diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire that reflects the realities on the ground and emboldens Hamas. This resolution also draws false equivalence between Israel and Hamas,” said Washington’s United Nations envoy Dorothy Shea.

The result of the voting is as follows: 14 votes in favour, one vote against (by the US), and zero abstentions. It was the 15-member UNSC’s first vote on the subject since November, when the US blocked a move calling for an end to fighting.

In her remarks before the votes, the US ambassador said she would not back the resolution. “United States opposition to this resolution should come as no surprise.

“The United States has taken the very clear position since this conflict began that Israel has the right to defend itself, which includes defeating Hamas and ensuring they are never again in a position to threaten Israel. In this regard, any product that undermines our close ally Israel’s security is a non-starter.”

The new resolution, seen by AFP, “demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties.”

It also calls for the “immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all [prisoners] held by Hamas and other groups.” Underlining a “catastrophic humanitarian situation” in the Palestinian territory, the resolution additionally demands the lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into Gaza.

Israel’s war on Gaza since October 2023 has killed at least 54,607 Palestinians and wounded 125,341, according to the health ministry.

16 more killed in Gaza

On Wednesday, Israeli bombardment killed at least 16 people in Gaza, including 12 in a single strike on a tent sheltering displaced people, the civil defence agency said. A day earlier, 27 people were killed when Israeli troops opened fire near a Gaza Humanitarian Foundation’s site in southern Gaza. The US- and Israeli-backed group operating aid sites in Gaza later shut its facilities, as the Israeli army warned that roads leading to distribution centres were “considered combat zones”.

At least 95 Palestinians were killed and 440 injured in Israeli attacks across Gaza in the past 24 hours, the enclave’s health ministry said on Wednesday.

The wave of deadly incidents at the aid distribution sites in the Gaza Strip drew condemnation from the United Nations, as the UN aid chief said the recent ‘horrifying scenes’ of Gazans being killed while trying to access food aid were the result of ‘a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived two million people of the essentials they need to survive’.

“The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat,” UN aid chief Tom Fletcher said in a statement.

UK protests

On the other hand, pro-Palestinian protesters staged demonstrations outside the House of Parliament in London, calling for sanctions on Israel over ongoing hunger among Gaza’s war-struck population. The demonstrations were organised by several campaign groups, including Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Avaaz and Parents for Palestine.

Amid the protests, the UK government called for an “immediate and independent investigation” into the deaths. UK’s Minister for Middle East Hamish Falconer said the deaths of Palestinians as they sought food were “deeply disturbing” as he called Israel’s new measures for aid delivery “inhumane”.

Also, the BBC defended its Gaza coverage after White House criticism of its reporting of an incident in which Palestinians were killed near a Gaza aid centre, after the White House accused the broadcaster of taking “the word of Hamas”.

Published in Dawn, June 5th, 2025