America blocks Arab-backed demand for truce

THE United States last night blocked calls for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war.

Washington exercised its powerful position within the 15-member UN Security Council to veto an Arab-backed resolution calling for a truce.

The US – one of five countries, including the UK, with the power to block a resolution outright – said it was working on a separate attempt to call for a temporary ceasefire, but linked to the release of hostages by the Hamas terror group. Last night marked the third such UNSC veto by the US since murderous militants stormed a music festival in Israel on October 7, massacring hundreds and reigniting a bitter and bloody feud between Israel and Hamas.

In retaliation, Israel launched a military assault on Gaza that Hamas-controlled health authorities say has killed nearly 29,000 Palestinians. Officials in President Joe Biden’s administration had warned it would oppose to the latest resolution because of concerns that it could hamper talks involving Egypt, Israel and Qatar to broker a pause in the war and the release of hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The US – which has long backed its ally’s right to defend itself – was the only nation to oppose the latest resolution, although the UK abstained.

Barbara Woodward, the UK’s ambassador to the UN, said: ‘Simply calling for a ceasefire – as this resolution does – will not make it happen. The way to stop the fighting, and potentially stop it from restarting, is to begin with a pause to get hostages out and aid in.’

The US’s own proposal to the UN for a pause in hostilities includes opposition to a planned Israeli attack on the Gazan city of Rafah, which Washington said would have ‘serious implications for regional peace and security’. Israel has rebuffed repeated calls to spare Rafah, where more than one million Palestinians are sheltering.