CAIRO/WASHINGTON –  The United Nations Security Council on March 22 failed to pass a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza as part of a hostage deal, after Russia and China vetoed the measure proposed by the United States.

The resolution called for an “immediate and sustained ceasefire” lasting roughly six weeks that would protect civilians and allow for the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

“The vast majority of this council voted in favour of this resolution, but unfortunately Russia and China decided to exercise its veto,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council.

The vote on the resolution saw 11 in favour, three against and one abstention.

Before the vote, Ms Thomas-Greenfield said it would be a “historic mistake” for the council not to adopt the resolution.

It was the closest the US had come to pressing its ally Israel, which has endorsed only a limited halt in fighting to free hostages held by Palestinian militant group Hamas.

But the resolution also included a condemnation of the Oct 7 attack on Israel by Hamas. Most UN proposals by other nations have left out criticism of Hamas, which is designated a terrorist organisation by the US and European Union.

Russia’s Ambassador to the UN Vassily Nebenzia, also speaking before the vote, called on members not to vote in favour of the resolution.

“Gaza has virtually been wiped from the earth and now the US representative, without blinking, has been asserting that Washington has finally begun to recognise the need for a ceasefire,” Mr Nebenzia told the council. “This sluggish thought process in Washington has cost the lives of 32,000 Palestinians.”

He said the resolution was “exceedingly politicised” and contained an effective green light for Israel to mount a military operation in Rafah on the southern tip of the Gaza Strip, where more than half of the enclave’s 2.3 million residents have been sheltering in makeshift tents to escape the Israeli assault farther north.

“This would free the hands of Israel, and it would result in all of Gaza and its entire population having to face destruction, devastation or expulsion,” Mr Nebenzia said.

China’s Ambassador to the UN Zhang Jun said the text proposed by the US was unbalanced, and criticised it for not clearly stating its opposition to any military operation by Israel in Rafah, which he said could lead to severe consequences.

“The US draft... sets up pre-conditions for a ceasefire, which is no different from giving a green light to continued killings, which is unacceptable,” he said after the vote.

He said that if the US was serious about a ceasefire, it would not have vetoed multiple previous Security Council resolutions.

Mr Nebenzia said a number of non-permanent members of the Security Council had drafted an alternative resolution, which he called a balanced document, and said there was no reason for members not to support it. 

But Ms Thomas-Greenfield said that measure fell short.

“In its current form, that text fails to support sensitive diplomacy in the region. Worse, it could actually give Hamas an excuse to walk away from the deal on the table,” she said.

“Let’s be honest: For all the fiery rhetoric, we all know that Russia and China are not doing anything diplomatically to advance a lasting peace or to meaningfully contribute to the humanitarian response,” she added.

Washington, which traditionally has shielded Israel at the UN, has incrementally applied more pressure on its long-time ally, and the draft Security Council resolution marked a further toughening.

The shift has coincided with rising global condemnation of the five-month-old war, Palestinian civilian deaths and domestic political opposition to US President Joe Biden’s stance, and the prospect of a man-made famine in Gaza.

Earlier in the war, the US was averse to the word “ceasefire” and had vetoed measures that included calls for an immediate ceasefire.

The UN vote came as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 22 in talks aimed at ensuring more aid flows into Gaza and moving the needle closer to a deal between Israel and Hamas that would pause the war in Gaza.

“A hundred per cent of the population of Gaza is experiencing severe levels of acute food insecurity. We cannot, we must not, allow that to continue,” Mr Blinken said at a news conference late on March 21.

“Israel needs to do more. I’ll be talking to our partners about how to coordinate our efforts,” he said.

Mr Blinken pushed Mr Netanyahu to take urgent steps to allow more aid into Gaza, where mass death from famine is imminent, according to the UN. The two met for about 40 minutes.

US officials say the number of aid deliveries via land needs to increase fast, and that aid needs to be sustained over a long period.

Israel insists it is not blocking food aid, but aid agencies say it is not providing enough access or security.

Colonel Moshe Tetro, head of Israel’s Coordination and Liaison Administration for Gaza, said there is no food shortage in the enclave.

“As much as we know, by our analysis, there is no starvation in Gaza. There is a sufficient amount of food entering Gaza every day,” he told reporters.

Mr Blinken is also expected to discuss Israel’s intention to launch a ground offensive on Rafah. Washington has repeatedly objected to such a plan.

Mr Netanyahu told Mr Biden in a phone call on March 18 that Israel sees no other way to defeat Hamas’ fighters, which it says are holed up in Rafah.

The Israeli leader reiterated that stand in his meeting with Mr Blinken on March 22. He said Israel remained determined to send troops into Rafah, saying that was the only way to defeat Hamas.

“I told him that I hope we will do it with the support of the US. But if we have to, we will do it alone,” he said.

Discussions on March 22 will likely lay the groundwork for meetings in Washington between senior Israeli and US officials next week, when the US will present to the Israelis alternative ways to hunt down Hamas without resorting to a full-on assault that would endanger more civilian lives.

Mr Blinken said on March 21 in Cairo that he believed talks mediated by the US, Qatar and Egypt could still achieve a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas.

Negotiations in Qatar centred on a truce of around six weeks that would allow the release of 40 Israeli hostages in return for hundreds of Palestinians detained in Israeli jails, and pave the way for more aid to enter Gaza.

“Negotiators continue to work. The gaps are narrowing, and we’re continuing to push for an agreement in Doha. There’s still difficult work to get there. But I continue to believe it’s possible,” Mr Blinken said.

The main sticking point has been that Hamas says it will release hostages only as part of a deal that would end the war, while Israel says it will discuss only a temporary pause.

A Palestinian official with knowledge of the mediation efforts, who declined to be identified, told Reuters that Hamas had demonstrated flexibility.

“(Israel) continues to stall because it doesn’t want to commit to ending the war on Gaza,” the official said. REUTERS