The US vetoes UN demand for a ceasefire and access to aid for the Gaza Strip.
The measure would require Israel to lift all restrictions on aid deliveries to the Palestinian enclave.
Reuters - The United States vetoed on Thursday (18) a draft resolution from the United Nations Security Council that would have demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.
The measure received 14 votes at the UN and would require Israel to lift all restrictions on aid deliveries to the Palestinian enclave.
The text, drafted by the 10 elected members of the 15-member council, would also demand the immediate, dignified, and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups.
This was the sixth time the US has used its veto power in the Security Council during the nearly two-year war between Israel and Palestinian Hamas militants.
Understand the war in the Gaza Strip.
The war in the Gaza Strip began on October 7, 2023, after Hamas launched a terrorist attack against Israel.
Fighters from the radical Palestinian group killed 1.200 people and kidnapped 251 hostages that day.
Then, Israeli troops launched a major offensive with bombings and on the ground to try to recover the hostages and end Hamas's control.
The fighting resulted in the devastation of Palestinian territory and the displacement of approximately 1,9 million people, equivalent to more than 80% of the total population of the Gaza Strip, according to UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees).
Since the beginning of the war, at least 63 Palestinians have been killed, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The ministry, controlled by Hamas, does not distinguish between civilians and Hamas fighters in its count, but states that more than half of the dead are women and children. Israel claims that at least 20 are fighters from the radical group.
Some of the hostages were recovered through two ceasefire agreements, while a minority were recovered through military action.
Authorities believe that around 50 hostages are still in Gaza, and that about 20 of them are believed to be alive.
As the war progresses, the humanitarian situation worsens daily in Palestinian territory. According to the UN, the number of people killed trying to obtain food has exceeded one thousand since May, when Israel changed the supply distribution system in the Gaza Strip.
