CNN
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The United States on Wednesday rejected a resolution by the UN Security Council to call for an “immediate, unconditional, permanent and permanent” ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, a Gaza militant group.
The United States was the only country opposed the resolution. Fourteen others, including the UK, voted in favor. There was no absenteeism.
US UN ambassador Dorothy Kamille Sia said the US opposed the resolution as Hamas did not ask to disarm and leave Gaza.
“(Resolution) is unacceptable for what it says, unacceptable for what it says, and unacceptable for how it has progressed,” she said in a comment before the vote was made.
The United States has taken a very clear position since the beginning of this conflict that Israel has the right to protect itself, which assures us that we will never again be in a position that will defeat Hamas and threaten Israel. In this regard, the product that undermines the security of our close allies is not a star,” she added.
This is not the first time the US has rejected a UN Security Council resolution on Gaza. In November 2024, it rejected anyone seeking an immediate, unconditional, permanent ceasefire because it failed to secure the release of hostages.
The UK said it “remorried” that the latest resolution “didn’t reach a consensus.”
“The UK voted in favor of this resolution today due to the unbearable circumstances of Gaza,” said the UK’s permanent representative in New York’s United Nations after the vote.
“We are determined to see the end of this war and to ensure the release of the hostages Hamas holds and alleviate the devastating humanitarian situation for the Palestinians in Gaza,” she added.
Woodward described Israel’s expansion of military operations in Gaza and strict restrictions on aid as “unfair, disproportionate and counterproductive.”
In mid-May, Israel said it aims to destroy Hamas, release hostages, raise denunciations from the United Nations and aid bodies warning civilians to bear the brunt of the expanded attack.
The ambassador also denounced Hamas for its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, demanding extremist groups to “release all hostages immediately and unconditionally” and said “Hamas has no role in Gaza’s future governance.”
The ambassador also revised the UK’s position that “the two-state solution is the only way to provide long-term peace, stability and security that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve.”
Meanwhile, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar thanked President Donald Trump and the US administration for “taking shoulders with Israel and for rejecting this unilateral resolution at the UN Security Council.”
“The proposed resolution simply strengthens Hamas and undermines America’s efforts to achieve hostage trade,” he added in X’s post shortly after the vote.
The draft text called for “an immediate, unconditional, permanent ceasefire in Gaza, respected by all parties,” and “an immediate and unconditional lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian assistance to Gaza and its safe and unhindered distribution.” They also called for “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups.”
Israel launched a war in Gaza after Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups launched a surprising attack on Southern Israel on October 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. It was the deadliest terrorist attack in Israel’s history.
Gaza’s Palestinian Health Ministry said the number of people killed in the Israeli attacks in the wake of the October 7 attacks has exceeded 54,000.
