Israel Gaza: China condemns US veto of call for immediate ceasefire at UN
China has strongly criticized the United States for vetoing a UN Security Council resolution that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, stating that the move conveyed the “wrong message” and effectively sanctioned the “ongoing slaughter.”
The White House argued that the resolution, proposed by Algeria, would “jeopardize” ongoing efforts to negotiate an end to the conflict. Instead, the US proposed its own temporary ceasefire resolution, which also cautioned Israel against invading Rafah.
The US decision to block Algeria’s resolution has been widely condemned, especially as the fighting in Gaza persists. The resolution garnered support from 13 out of the 15 UN Security Council members, with the United Kingdom abstaining.
In response to the veto, China’s UN ambassador Zhang Jun criticized the notion that the resolution would disrupt diplomatic negotiations as “completely unfounded.” He emphasized that in light of the situation on the ground, delaying an immediate ceasefire amounted to condoning further bloodshed.
“The spill-over of the conflict is destabilising the entire Middle East region leading to rising risk of a wider war,” he added.
“Only by extinguishing the flames of war in Gaza can we prevent the fires of hell from engulfing the entire region.”
Algeria’s top UN diplomat declared that “unfortunately the Security Council failed once again”. “Examine your conscience, how will history judge you,” Amar Bendjama added.
US allies were also critical of the move. France’s UN envoy Nicolas de Rivière expressed regret that the resolution had not been adopted “given the disastrous situation on the ground”.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Washington’s ambassador to the UN, said it was not the right time to call for an immediate ceasefire while negotiations between Hamas and Israel were continuing.
Her UK counterpart, Barbara Woodward, said the plan could “actually make a ceasefire less likely” by endangering talks.
Israel launched its operations in Gaza following an attack by Hamas on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 others taken hostage.
The Israeli military campaign has left more than 29,000 people dead in Gaza, according to the Palestinian territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
The draft resolution proposed by the US calls for a temporary ceasefire “as soon as practicable” and on the condition that all hostages are released, as well as urging barriers to aid reaching Gaza to be lifted.
The White House has previously avoided the word “ceasefire” during UN votes on the war, but it is unclear if or when the Security Council will vote on the proposal.
It also states a major ground offensive in Rafah would result in more harm to civilians and their further displacement, including potentially into neighboring countries – a reference to Egypt.
But Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday he was “committed to continuing the war until we achieve all of its goals” and no pressure could change it.
More than a million displaced Palestinians – about half of the Strip’s population – are crammed into Rafah after being forced to seek shelter there. The southern city, which borders Egypt, was home to only 250,000 people before the war.
Many of the displaced are living in makeshift shelters or tents in squalid conditions, with scarce access to safe drinking water or food.
The UN has issued its own warning that a planned Israeli offensive in the city could lead to a “slaughter”. The Israeli military has previously insisted it only targets Hamas fighters.
Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz has warned the ground assault will be launched unless Hamas frees all its hostages by 10 March.
