Israel-Hamas War: 310 Palestinians Killed in a 24-hour Period, Gaza Death Toll Nears 17500, US vetoes UN Security Council resolution
Israel-Hamas War: 310 Palestinians Killed in a 24-hour Period, Gaza Death Toll Nears 17500, US vetoes UN Security Council resolution
US vetoes UN Security Council resolution demanding immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza
The United States on Friday (Dec 8) vetoed the proposed demand by the United Nations Security Council for an immediate ceasefire in the intense fighting between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, in a bid to shield its longtime ally.
Thirteen other members voted in favour of the draft resolution by the United Arab Emirates, while the United Kingdom abstained.
The voting came after United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, in a rare move, formally warned the 15-member council of a global threat from the war, which has now been going on for over two months.
“What is the message we are sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza?” Deputy UAE U.N. Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab asked the council. “Indeed, what is the message we are sending civilians across the world who may find themselves in similar situations?”
“The United Arab Emirates is deeply disappointed,” said the representative of the UAE. “Regrettably… this council is unable to demand a humanitarian ceasefire.”
US defends veto
The United States, defending its veto, said that the resolution still held a call for an unconditional ceasefire.
“This resolution still contains a call for an unconditional ceasefire… it would leave Hamas in place able to repeat what it did on October 7,” said US deputy UN representative Robert Wood.
Wood further denounced the UAE stating that the draft resolution was a rushed, imbalanced text “that was divorced from reality, that would not move the needle forward on the ground in any concrete way.”
“We do not support this resolution’s call for an unsustainable ceasefire that will only plant the seeds for the next war,” said Wood.
UK’s UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward said that her country abstained because there was no denunciation of Hamas.
“Israel needs to be able to address the threat posed by Hamas and it needs to do so in a manner that abides by international humanitarian law so that such an attack can never be carried out again,” she told the council.
Israel’s UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan did not address the Security Council after the vote, but in a statement said: “A ceasefire will be possible only with the return of all the hostages and the destruction of Hamas.”
Washington, being the permanent member of the Security Council, can veto any resolution.
Ahead of the vote, Guterres had said that “the brutality perpetrated by Hamas can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people.”
US risks ‘complicity in war crimes’ by giving Israel weapons and ‘diplomatic cover’, says Human Rights Watch
The US risks “complicity in war crimes” by continuing to provide Israel with weapons and “diplomatic cover” as it commits “atrocities” in Gaza, Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said.
The HRW UN director, Louis Charbonneau, posted a statement after the US vetoed a security council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in the Palestinian territory.
The veto by the US prevented the council from making some of the call Washington itself has been demanding, including compliance with international humanitarian law, protection of civilians and releasing all civilians held hostage, he wrote. The statement continues:
By continuing to provide Israel with weapons and diplomatic cover as it commits atrocities, including collectively punishing the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza, the US risks complicity in war crimes.
Israel-Hamas war live: Palestinians slam US veto of UN ceasefire resolution
Palestinian officials slam US veto of UN Security Council resolution urging an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza as “disastrous” and “a disgrace”.
Hundreds killed in 24-hour period; Gaza death toll nears 17,500: UN report
At least 310 Palestinians were killed in a 24-hour period between Thursday and Friday in the Gaza Strip, as the Israeli military blasted the densely-populated Palestinian enclave from air, land and sea, the UN says in its latest report.
Approximately 70 percent of the almost 17,500 people killed in Gaza since October 7 have been women and children, the UN also reports, citing the territory’s Ministry of Health. A further 46,000 people have been injured by Israeli attacks.
The report highlights some of the deadliest attacks on Thursday and Friday:
- 30 people killed when a house was hit by Israeli fire in the al-Dorj neighbourhood, east of Gaza City
- 35 killed when two houses were hit in eastern Gaza City.
- 13 killed in an attack on a residential building in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of Gaza.
- 9 killed when a residential building was hit west of Khan Younis in the south of Gaza.
(With inputs from agencies)