- The United States has used its veto power to override a unanimous UN Security Council vote for a ceasefire and the lifting of all restrictions of aid.
- Just over a week after Israel bombed Qatar, the United States had provided Israel with diplomatic cover and assurance.
The United States has for the 6th time used its veto power in the United Nations Security Council to block a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and the lifting of all restrictions on aid deliveries.
The vote was 14 in favor and 1 against, making the United States the only country in the Security Council as well as the only permanent member to vote against the decision.
The resolution was drafted by 10 of the 15 members of the Security Council and comes after Israel launched a major offensive in Gaza City, displacing at least another 250,000 from the city this month alone while exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe even more.
Denmark’s UN Ambassador Christina Markus Lassen told the council before the vote: “Famine has been confirmed in Gaza – not projected, not declared, confirmed.
“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.”
A global hunger monitor determined this month that Gaza City and surrounding areas are officially suffering from famine with it anticipated to likely spread.
Over 65,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the genocide began according to the heavily ruptured and degraded Gazan Health Ministry. The actual number is likely in the hundreds of thousands with one estimate suggesting the actual number of those killed as a result of this genocide is over 600,000.
According to French President Emmanuel Macron, who spoke to Israel’s Channel 12 on Thursday, Hamas still has the same number of troops now as they did before the genocide on Gaza began.
He said: “There are the same number of Hamas fighters today as there were two years ago. At the same time, so many civilian lives have been lost, damaging Israel’s credibility in the region and internationally.”
Israel’s strategies of destroying Hamas and occupying Gaza has failed to come to fruition since it began its genocide in 2023 with no end in sight in its continued pursuit to achieve something it failed to do.
After Israel attacked Qatar earlier this month, a US ally, the United States offered a rare show of support for a UN Security Council statement condemning Qatar, though the text did not mention Israel by name as being responsible.
However, only a week later the United States protected Israel from a United Nations Security Council decision to cease hostilities, signalling reluctance to change stance on Israel’s continued genocide on Gaza even with its violations of international laws and norms.
