The United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Thursday that called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and the lifting of all restrictions on aid deliveries. The resolution, backed by 10 elected members, including Pakistan, received 14 votes in favour but failed due to Washington’s veto, the sixth by the US since the war began.
According to Gaza health authorities, more than 65,000 Palestinians have been killed since the Israeli offensive started nearly two years ago. The vote came as the Council held its 10,000th meeting amid rising famine and displacement in the besieged enclave.
Pakistan condemns veto, calls it a dark moment
Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad expressed “profound regret,” calling the veto a “dark moment” in the Council’s history. He warned that blocking a humanitarian resolution risks enabling further suffering and undermining the Council’s credibility.
He stressed that Gaza’s people face relentless bombardment, starvation, and forced displacement, while illegal settlements in the West Bank threaten the two-state solution. Pakistan reaffirmed its unwavering support for Palestinian self-determination, urging an immediate ceasefire, full humanitarian access, and the creation of a sovereign Palestinian state on pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Divided Council, rising humanitarian toll
The resolution demanded the release of all hostages held by Hamas and unrestricted humanitarian access, but the US argued it ignored Israel’s right to self-defence and “legitimised false narratives benefiting Hamas.” Other Council members, including Algeria and Palestine’s representatives, condemned the failure, with Algeria’s envoy apologising to Gaza’s people and Palestine’s Ambassador warning the world “cannot fail them any longer.”
Israel’s representative dismissed the meeting as “theatre,” claiming Hamas was the only beneficiary of the resolution.
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