U.S. vetoes U.N. Security Council resolution demanding immediate Gaza ceasefire and hostage release

The United States once again vetoed a U.N.

The United States once again vetoed a U.N. Security Council resolution Thursday that had demanded an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages, saying that the effort did not go far enough in condemning Hamas.

The 14 other members of the United Nations’ most powerful body voted in favor of the resolution, which described the humanitarian situation in Gaza as “catastrophic” and called on Israel to lift all restrictions on the delivery of aid to the 2.1 million Palestinians in the territory.

“U.S. opposition to this resolution will come as no surprise,” Morgan Ortagus, a senior U.S. policy adviser, said before the vote. “It fails to condemn Hamas or recognize Israel’s right to defend itself, and it wrongly legitimizes the false narratives benefiting Hamas, which have sadly found currency in this council.”

She added that other council members “ignored” U.S. warnings about the “unacceptable” language and instead adopted “performative action designed to draw a veto.”

Morgan Ortagus, a senior U.S. policy adviser, during a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Gaza, in New York on Thursday.Angela Weiss / AFP via Getty ImagesThe outcome further highlights U.S. and Israeli isolation on the world stage over the nearly two-year war in Gaza. The vote came just days before the annual gathering of world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly, where Gaza will be a major topic and major U.S. allies are expected to recognize an independent Palestinian state. It is a largely symbolic move vehemently opposed by Israel and the U.S., dividing the Trump administration from allies including the U.K. and France.