Russia, China veto UN resolution calling for immediate ceasefire in Gaza

New York: Russia and China on Friday vetoed a US-sponsored United Nations resolution calling for “an immediate and sustained ceasefire” in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza to protect civilians and enable humanitarian aid to be delivered to more than 2 million hungry Palestinians.

The vote in the 15-member Security Council saw 11 members vote in favour, three against and one abstain.

Before the vote, Russia’s UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said Moscow supported an immediate ceasefire, but he questioned the language in the resolution and accused US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield of “misleading the international community” for “politicised” reasons.

Thomas-Greenfield had said she was optimistic that the draft resolution would be approved.

Unlike a previous draft, the proposal voted on had no direct link to the release of hostages taken during Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel. However, it supported diplomatic efforts “to secure such a ceasefire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages.”

The Security Council has already adopted two resolutions on the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza, but none calling for a ceasefire.
Russia and China vetoed a US-sponsored resolution in late October calling for pauses in the fighting to deliver aid, protection of civilians and a halt to arming Hamas. They said it did not reflect global calls for a ceasefire.

The US, Israel’s closest ally, has vetoed three resolutions demanding a ceasefire, the most recent an Arab-backed measure supported by 13 council members with one abstention on February 20.

The vote took place as Blinken, America’s top diplomat, was on his sixth mission to the Middle East since October 7, discussing a deal for a ceasefire and hostage release, as well as post-war scenarios.

Palestinian militants killed some 1200 people in the surprise October 7 attack into southern Israel and abducted another 250 people. Hamas is still believed to be holding some 100 people hostage, as well as the remains of 30 others. Israel is also holding an unspecified number of Palestinians as political prisoners.

In Gaza, the Hamas-run Health Ministry raised the death toll in the territory on Thursday to nearly 32,000 Palestinians. It doesn’t differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count, but says women and children make up two-thirds of the dead.

The international community’s authority on determining the severity of hunger crises warned this week that “famine is imminent” in northern Gaza, where 70 per cent of people are experiencing catastrophic hunger.

The report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification initiative, or IPC, warned that escalation of the war could push half of Gaza’s total population to the brink of starvation.
Israel faces mounting pressure from even its closest allies to streamline the entry of aid into the Gaza Strip, to open more land crossings and come to a ceasefire agreement. However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to move the military offensive to the southern city of Rafah, where some 1.3 million displaced Palestinians have sought safety. Netanyahu claims it’s a Hamas stronghold.

AP