US vetoes UN resolution demanding cease-fire in Gaza because there’s no link to hostage release

The United States on November 20 vetoed a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire in the war in Gaza because it was not linked to an immediate release of hostages taken captive by Hamas militants in Israel in October 2023, Report informs via the Associated Press.

The council voted overwhelmingly in favor of the resolution — 14 of its 15 members voted “yes” including US allies Britain and France — but it was doomed by the veto.

US deputy ambassador Robert Wood said the United States worked for weeks to avoid a veto of the resolution sponsored by the council’s 10 elected members, and expressed regret that compromise language was not accepted.

“We made clear throughout negotiations we could not support an unconditional cease-fire that failed to release the hostages,” he said. “Hamas would have seen it as a vindication of its cynical strategy to hope and pray the international community forgets about the fate of more than 100 hostages from more than 20 member states who have been held for 410 days.”