Security Council Fails to Adopt Resolution on Gaza Ceasefire

Meetings Coverage, Security Council

18 September 2025

10,000th Meeting (PM)

In its 10,000^th meeting, the Security Council today failed to adopt a resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages and for Israel to immediately and unconditionally lift all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into the enclave, as the United States vetoed the measure despite affirmative votes by the other 14 members of the 15-nation organ.

Introducing the draft, the representative of Denmark also spoke for the other nine elected members of the Council, who “represent every region of the world” — as well as “the will and the expectations of the members of the General Assembly by whom we were elected”. She noted that famine in Gaza has been “confirmed”, with desperate mothers “forced to boil leaves to feed their children”, people killed as they try to get food to survive and a generation at risk of being lost.  She cited a “humanitarian and human failure that has compelled us to act today” on a text resulting from weeks of consultations — its sole intent being to ease suffering and “contribute to the end of this abhorrent war”.

However, the United States’ representative warned that the resolution was deeply flawed, as it demanded a ceasefire that would leave Hamas in power and allow it to regroup.  “[United States] President [Donald] Trump will never accept this,” she said, rejecting what she called a “false equivalence” between Israel’s right to defend itself and Hamas’s campaign of terror.  Gaza’s humanitarian suffering, she emphasized, is the result of Hamas’s actions, not Israel’s.  That State works daily to deliver aid, which must reach civilians who need it rather than sustain Hamas.  She concluded by demanding that Hamas release all hostages and surrender immediately.

United States Vetoes Text, Other Council Members Express Frustration and Concern

Then, by a vote of 14 in favour to 1 against (United States), with no abstentions, the draft resolution was not adopted owing to the negative vote of a permanent Council member.  Had it been, the text would have seen the Council demand an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza; the immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages held by Hamas and other groups; and Israel’s immediate, unconditional lifting of all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid into the Strip.

“Forgive us,” said Algeria’s delegate after the vote.  “Forgive us,” he continued, addressing the people of Palestine, “because this Council could not save your children — more than 18,000 of them have been killed by Israel”.  “Forgive us,” he repeated, noting that more than 12,000 women, more than 4,000 elderly, more than 1,400 doctors and nurses, more than 250 journalists and more than 500 aid workers “have been killed by Israel”.

Famine now spreads in Gaza, he added, and the Council “could not even act to denounce it” as “Israel is shielded” — not by international law, but by the bias of the international system. Stressing that “history will not weigh our speeches, it will weigh our deeds”, he stated that “we will not give up”. “Shame on helplessness,” he said, adding:  “Shame in the face of genocide unfolding before open eyes.”

“Ten thousand times, the world has looked into this Chamber for leadership, conscience and hope,” said Somalia’s delegate; today, however, “we have failed to adopt a resolution safeguarding the basic rights of the Gaza people”.  He underscored that “this is not just a procedural lapse but a profound moral failure”, reflecting an unspoken and dangerous logic that “the suffering of some is more tolerable than the suffering of others and that the lives of certain people matter less”.  He warned: “The moment we measure the worth of human life by nationality, ethnicity or circumstances, we lose the very foundation upon which this institution was built.”

Calling it a “dark moment in this Chamber”, Pakistan’s representative echoed regret over the organ’s “failure” and pointed out that the Council was prevented from acting by the exercise of the veto — and “that is where the apology must lie”.  In moments of such grave human suffering, preventing the Council from fulfilling its mandate “risks being seen as enabling the continuation of that suffering”.  He stressed that, against this grim setting, today’s failure sends the dangerous message that 2 million people “are expendable”.  Further, he noted that “the safety of hostages is being compromised” alongside hundreds of thousands of Palestinians.

Other delegations — including those of Guyana and China — also rejected today’s veto, with the latter stating that the United States was “abusing” that power.  Noting that today marks the seventh time the United States has exercised it on this issue, the Russian Federation’s delegate stressed that “there will be no breakthrough” so long as Washington, D.C., “does not change the lens through which it regards the crisis in Gaza”.  He urged that country to acknowledge that its “declared quiet diplomacy on the ground” is being “undermined not by the sensible voices of the international community”, but by the concrete actions of its Israeli ally.

Speakers Highlight International Obligations

Sierra Leone’s delegate, for his part,affirmed that the duty to prevent genocide is binding on all, and that failure to act would make the Council complicit in one of the gravest crimes known to humanity.  He recalled that the International Court of Justice — in Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro — found that failure to act breached this obligation.  A State cannot lawfully provide aid or assistance to perpetrators if it knows that genocide is being, or about to be, committed.  “Let us be clear — unlike Pontius Pilate, we cannot wash our hands of this responsibility,” he stressed.

Many speakers — including the representatives of Greece, Slovenia and Denmark — echoed warnings of a calamitous situation on the brink.  The representative of the Republic of Korea, Council President for September, spoke in his national capacity to underscore that “civilians in Gaza, as well as hostages and their families, have suffered too much and far too long”.  He therefore urged the finalization of a deal to secure an immediate ceasefire and the release of all hostages, leading to a permanent end to the war.  “We do not believe that today’s unsuccessful effort is meaningless,” he said.

Meanwhile, Panama’s delegate pointed out that resolution 2735 (2024) had already outlined “a three-step plan of cessation of hostilities, release of hostages, withdrawal of forces and reconstruction of Gaza” — a plan both Israel and Hamas later accepted in a January 2025 ceasefire.  While reiterating a condemnation of the terrorist attacks of 7 October 2023, and that Hamas must be disarmed and excluded from governance, France’s representative called on Israel to abide by its international obligations and lift all hindrances for aid to enter Gaza.

“We need a ceasefire more than ever,” underscored the United Kingdom’s representative.  “And yet,” she continued, “Israel’s reckless expansion of its military operation takes us further away from a deal which could bring the hostages home and end the suffering in Gaza.”  Urging Israel to “end the bloodshed” — “newborn babies in incubators and children on dialysis should not be under bombardment” — she expressed regret over the Council’s inability to reach consensus on today’s resolution.  Nevertheless, she said that her country remains “committed to the vision of this text”.

Palestine Stresses Result Undermines Council’s Credibility, Israel Says Draft Rewards Hamas

For his part, the observer for the State of Palestine stressed that today’s draft was a “genuine effort for the Council to speak with one voice”; yet, its failure comes “at a great cost for its credibility and authority”.  Further, he said that it proves, “when it comes to atrocity crimes, the use of the veto should simply not be allowed”.  While the veto “prevented this Council from taking action at a time when it is most needed”, he added that “this is not the end”.

Noting that world leaders will soon gather to mark the UN’s eightieth anniversary, he stressed that — regardless of modality for participation — “Palestine will be there; it will be the biggest elephant in New York City.” Adding that “Gaza is the ultimate test”, he noted that millions of Palestinians have “paid the price of our failure to stop the killing machine launched against them”.  He concluded:  “We cannot fail them any longer.”

Responding, Israel’s delegate commended the United States for “showing leadership and moral conviction by vetoing this biased resolution”, adding:  “What we see here is not diplomacy, it is theatre.”  By endorsing a draft resolution that “dares to imply Israel is starving the people of Gaza, you echo the propaganda of Hamas”, he said.  Noting that crossings to Gaza are open and aid is moving into the Strip, he said that 226 trucks entered Gaza on 17 September alone and underscored that “starvation is not — and has never been — Israel’s policy”.

For its part, Israel is fighting terror and Hamas — “the ones actually starving hostages”, he said.  “Make no mistake — Hamas waits in the wings, the only beneficiary of this stage drama,” he added, citing today’s draft resolution — which failed to label them a terrorist organization, condemn the 7 October 2023 massacre or demand their disarmament and an end to their rule in Gaza — as “a reward for their barbarism and murder”.

And, pushing back on several references to the findings of “the so-called [Independent International] Commission of Inquiry [on the Occupied Palestinian Territory]” — which recently determined that genocide is being committed in Gaza — the United States’ representative called them “a slanderous report that lacks any credibility” and presents “lies and distortions to the benefit of Hamas”.  Condemning the Human Rights Council’s “moral bankruptcy” — the reason her Government ended its participation therein — she said:  “It is long overdue that the [Commission] be eliminated and that its anti-Semitic witch-hunt be put to an end.”