US vetoes UN call for unconditional Gaza ceasefire

The US has vetoed the UN Security Council's draft resolution calling for an "unconditional and permanent" ceasefire in Gaza.

The other 14 members voted in favour of the document, which also demanded the release of all hostages and the lifting of humanitarian aid restrictions.

The US Ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea, said the resolution would "undermine diplomatic efforts" to reach a ceasefire, adding that the UN has not labelled Hamas as a terrorist organisation. Hamas is described as such by the US, UK and the EU.

"We would not support any measure that fails to condemn Hamas and does not call for Hamas to disarm and leave Gaza," she said.

It comes amid growing concern over the distribution of aid in Gaza, with more than two million people at risk of starvation, according to the UN, after a total Israeli ban on shipments of food and other aid that lasted 11 weeks.

Aid distribution has recently been taken over by The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), an Israel and US-backed group which aims to replace UN agencies and other organisations in the region.

Over the past few days, there have been a series of deadly incidents on the route to an aid distribution site in Gaza run by GHF.

The UK's ambassador to the UN Barbara Woodward explained that she voted in favour of the draft resolution because Britain wants the "intolerable situation in Gaza needs to end" and that the country sees a ceasefire as the best way to "achieve a long-term political solution".

She added that Israel needs to "end its restrictions" on aid now and "let the UN and humanitarians do their job to save lives, reduce suffering and maintain dignity".

Israel launched a military campaign in Gaza in response to Hamas' attacks on 7 October 2023, in which about 1,200 people were killed, and 251 others were taken hostage.

At least 54, 000 people have been killed in Gaza since then, including 4,201 since Israel resumed its offensive on 18 March, according to the territory's health ministry.