Russia and China vetoed a U.S.-backed United Nations Security Council resolution that called for an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” in Gaza on Friday.
Eleven countries voted in favor of the resolution on Friday morning, while those two, along with Algeria, voted against it, and there was one abstention. This was the fourth attempt by the Security Council to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire, and the United States didn’t support any of the first three, none of which passed.
This iteration of the resolution included calls for a hostage deal and condemnation of Hamas, which carried out the Oct. 7 terrorist attack in southern Israel that prompted the current war, instead of one that called for an unconditional ceasefire.
Following the failed vote, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield criticized China and Russia’s votes as being made out of disdain for the U.S.
“Russia and China simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the United States because it would rather see us fail than to see this council succeed,” she said. “Even after inclusive consultations over weeks and weeks, even after negotiations and edits produced the draft that received overwhelming council support.”
As the U.N. convened in New York, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken is in Israel to push for a ceasefire agreement and to persuade Israel against conducting full-scale military operations in southern Gaza, where more than a million civilians are sheltering from the war.
“First, the need for an immediate, sustained ceasefire with release of hostages,” Blinken said in Cairo, Egypt, on Thursday. “That would create space to surge more humanitarian assistance, to relieve the suffering of many people, and to build something more enduring. We’ve been working, as you know, with Egypt, with Qatar, and with Israel to put a strong proposal on the table. Hamas responded to that, negotiators continue to work, the gaps are narrowing, and we’re continuing to push for an agreement in Doha.”
“There’s still difficult work to get there, but I continue to believe it’s possible,” he continued. “The United States has also put forward a United Nations Security Council resolution to support these efforts, and we hope that all countries back that resolution.”
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The Biden administration, along with several other Western governments, has adamantly come out against Israeli operations in the southern city of Rafah amid concerns there could be significant civilian casualties.
Israel’s operations began in the northern part of the strip and forced Palestinians to travel south to seek safety. As Israel’s forces moved south, so did the Palestinians, which has prompted the current debacle. Israeli leaders say they have to carry out operations in Rafah to complete their north-to-south sweep of Gaza, but they haven’t explained how they plan to safeguard the civilians in that area.