- Written by Christy Cooney
- bbc news
Israel canceled a meeting in Washington after the United States refused to veto a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The resolution also calls for the release of all hostages and comes after similar measures were attempted and failed since the October 7 attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the United States of “abandoning” its previous policy.
The spat comes amid calls for urgent action to avert starvation in Gaza.
Since the conflict began, the United States has used its veto to block three Security Council resolutions calling for a pause in fighting or a ceasefire. The other two have been vetoed by both Russia and China.
On Monday, the United States abstained from a resolution calling for an “immediate” ceasefire for the remaining two weeks of Ramadan and the “immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.”
14 other council members, including the UK, voted in favor of the resolution, meaning it was passed.
After the vote, Prime Minister Netanyahu objected that the resolution did not call for a ceasefire on the condition that the hostages be released, as both the United States and Israel have insisted on calling for a ceasefire.
Israel believes Hamas and its allies are still holding around 130 hostages in the Gaza Strip, 33 of whom are presumed dead.
Prime Minister Netanyahu's office said in a statement: “Today's resolution will force Hamas to believe that international pressure will force Israel to accept a ceasefire without releasing the hostages, negatively impacting both the war effort and hostage release efforts. It gave me hope.”
It added that a planned visit by an Israeli delegation to the United States this week would not take place “in view of the change in the US position.”
Israeli and U.S. officials were scheduled to meet to discuss Israel's attack plans in the southern Gaza city of Rafah. Rafah is home to around 1.5 million Palestinians who have fled fighting elsewhere in Gaza.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has publicly stated that ground operations in Rafah risk killing more civilians and are “not the way” to defeat Hamas.
In response to Israel's decision, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called it “regrettable,'' but reiterated the US position that “a large-scale ground attack in Rafah would be a huge mistake.''
He added that a scheduled meeting between Israeli Defense Minister Job Gallant and US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan will take place as scheduled.
Israeli opposition leader and former prime minister Yair Lapid criticized Netanyahu's decision, calling the episode “unnecessary” and saying Netanyahu had been “irresponsible.”
“It's bad for Israel. It's bad for security and it's bad for the economy,” he said on X (formerly Twitter).
“Sometimes you have to say 'no' to Americans. Israel is indeed an independent country and does not need anyone's permission to protect itself. [But] It's better to keep your fights behind closed doors. ”
Although U.N. Security Council resolutions are widely considered to be legally binding on U.N. member states, the United States said it does not consider Monday's vote to be binding on Israel.
Gallant said Israel will not stop its war in Gaza while hostages are being held there. The hostages were taken when Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people, mostly civilians.
Palestine's representative to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, welcomed the resolution but said it was overdue.
“Over 100,000 Palestinians were killed and seriously injured, 2 million displaced and starved, and it took six months for this council to finally call for an immediate ceasefire,” he said. It took a while,” he said.
Hamas also welcomed the vote and said it was ready to “work on an immediate prisoner exchange process leading to the release of prisoners on both sides.”
Talks between Israeli and Hamas representatives continue through Qatari intermediaries. According to reports, the current proposed deal would see 40 Israeli hostages released in exchange for 800 Palestinian prisoners.
image source, UK Ministry of Defense/PA
British aid drops from a Royal Air Force plane over Gaza on Monday
Monday's resolution comes amid great concern over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
Blinken warned last week that all residents of Gaza were experiencing “severe levels of severe food insecurity.”
The United Nations World Food Program also warned that famine is expected to begin in Gaza's two northern governorates by May unless aid flows into the Strip increase.
After Monday's vote, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the resolution “must be implemented” and “failure is not an option.”
Early Tuesday morning, the British government announced it had carried out its first food airlift to Gaza.
The Royal Air Force said the fallout contained 10 tonnes of supplies, including water, rice, cooking oil, flour, canned goods and powdered milk.
It also reiterated its call for Israel to allow further aid through ports in the Gaza Strip and further open land routes to the territory.
