How the US has used its veto power at the UN in support of Israel

A meeting of the Security Council on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian armed group Hamas at the UN headquarters in New York on October 24, 2023. [Shannon Stapleton/Reuters]

The United Nations Security Council failed to adopt a resolution on the ongoing situation in Gaza after two competing draft resolutions were rejected by member states on Wednesday.

Russia and China vetoed a US-drafted resolution that called for “humanitarian pauses” and Israel’s right to defend itself. A second draft resolution sponsored by Russia, which called for a humanitarian ceasefire, failed to garner enough votes to pass. The United States was expected to veto the resolution had it garnered enough votes to put it on the path to approval.