The United States on June 5, 2025, vetoed a United Nations Security Council draft resolution demanding an "immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire" in the Gaza Strip, drawing immediate and severe condemnation from Iran and Palestine. This diplomatic blockage comes as the humanitarian crisis in Gaza reaches catastrophic levels, with over 90% of families lacking the cash to purchase dwindling food supplies, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The US veto, its fifth on a Gaza ceasefire resolution since October 2023, was cast despite 14 other Security Council members voting in favor, underscoring Washington's isolation on the issue. Acting US Representative Dorothy Shea defended the veto, stating the resolution was "unacceptable" for not condemning Hamas or demanding its disarmament, and asserted that Washington would not support any text that "draws a false equivalence between Israel and Hamas, or disregards Israel's right to defend itself."
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmail Baghaei vehemently criticized the US action, stating that it highlights the "moral decay within the US administration" and serves as "proof of their complicity in the ongoing massacres, including the killing of children, in the occupied Palestinian territories." Baghaei's statement, reported via the Iranian Foreign Ministry's official Telegram channel, emphasized Washington's isolation as the sole dissenting vote, reflecting "the moral decline of the country's policymakers and their partnership in the slaughter of Palestinian children."
Similarly, Rawhi Fattouh, Chairman of the Palestinian Legislative Council, condemned the US decision as "opposition to the global community and its blatant bias in favor of the occupying force [Israel]." Fattouh, as quoted by Palestine's WAFA news agency, accused US authorities of choosing to "support this entity [Israel], which is committing genocide, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement, and to remain silent when thousands of children are getting killed and facing famine."
The diplomatic impasse exacerbates an already dire situation on the ground in Gaza. The UN OCHA has reported that more than 90% of families in the enclave lack the necessary cash to buy food, even if it were available. Essential food items such as meat, dairy, vegetables, fruit, and eggs are now "nearly absent from people’s diets," and eggs have "once again disappeared from the market." The scarcity reflects a broader collapse in food diversity and a deepening nutritional crisis across Gaza.
Humanitarian aid efforts are struggling to meet the overwhelming demand. OCHA highlighted that "supplies continue to dwindle, as what is allowed into Gaza is merely a trickle." Daily meal distributions have drastically declined, with approximately 259,000 meals distributed daily as of early June, a sharp drop from over a million in late April. The Gaza government estimates that around 500 trucks carrying humanitarian aid are needed daily to satisfy the basic needs of the local population. However, access remains severely restricted, with intensified hostilities and military operations, particularly in Rafah, significantly destabilizing aid flows and displacing over one million people.
International food security experts continue to warn of a high risk of famine persisting across the entire Gaza Strip as long as conflict and humanitarian access restrictions continue. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) projects that about 96% of Gaza's population will face crisis or worse levels of acute food insecurity through September 2024, with 22% (over 495,000 people) facing catastrophic levels (IPC Phase 5). This means households are experiencing an extreme lack of food, starvation, and exhaustion of coping capacities. Reports indicate that more than half of households have resorted to exchanging clothes for money, and a third are picking up trash to sell to survive.
The US veto maintains the diplomatic deadlock at the UN Security Council, effectively preventing a globally supported call for an immediate end to hostilities. This decision is poised to further inflame regional tensions and deepen the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis, leaving the international community to grapple with continued suffering and instability in the absence of a unified path to peace. Observers will closely monitor diplomatic efforts outside the UN Security Council, particularly mediation attempts by Egypt, Qatar, and the United States, which have so far struggled to achieve a lasting truce.
ISN MEDIA
