Sept. 21—As the plight of 2 million Gazans worsens amidst a full-scale invasion into Gaza City and continuing “restrictions” of humanitarian aid, the UN Security Council remains frozen from the sole veto of the United States. A Sept. 18 resolution was introduced to the UN Security Council by Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Somalia. According to Al Jazeera, which had seen a draft of the resolution, it called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the “unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups,” and unrestricted flows of humanitarian aid. The resolution also pointed to UN findings that famine is already occurring in Gaza City and is expected to expand to Deir el-Balah and Khan Younis by the end of September.

The vote was 14 in favor, including the 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council, and a single “No” vote by the U.S.—its sixth veto against a Gaza ceasefire resolution in the Security Council since October 2023.

The U.S. representative said the resolution “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.”

Sources report that there was no effort to work with the U.S. on a resolution it could have supported, which would not have included any references to Israeli "genocide." The matter is now expected to be brought up in the General Assembly, where the U.S. has no veto power.

Algeria’s representative Amar Bendjama responded passionately to the U.S. veto: “Forgive us, in particular in Gaza, where fire consumes, where rubber suffocates, forgive us, because this council could not save your children. Because Israel is shielded, because it is immune. Immune, not by international law, but by the bias of this international system…. Israel kills every day and nothing happens. Israel starves a people and nothing happens. Israel bombs hospitals, schools, shelters and nothing happens. Israel attacks a mediator and steps on diplomacy, and nothing happened. And with every act, every act unpunished, humanity itself is diminished.”