UN Security Council fails again to address Israel-Hamas war, rejecting US and Russian resolutions

The U.N. Security Council failed again Wednesday to address the Israeli-Hamas war in Gaza, rejecting rival United States and Russian resolutions.

The council is the U.N.’s most powerful body, charged with maintaining international peace and security, but its divisions have left it impotent and scrambling to try to find a resolution with acceptable language.

The resolution drafted by the United States, Israel’s closest ally, would have reaffirmed Israel’s right to self-defense, urged respect for international laws — especially protection of civilians — and called for “humanitarian pauses” to deliver desperately needed aid to Gaza.

The Russian resolution, which was then put to a vote, would have called for an immediate “humanitarian cease-fire” and unequivocally condemned Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks in Israel and “indiscriminate attacks” on civilians and civilian objects in Gaza.

In that vote, four countries voted in favor – Russia, China, United Arab Emirates and Gabon. The United States and United Kingdom voted against, and nine countries abstained. The resolution wasn’t adopted because it failed to get the minimum nine “yes” votes.

The failure of the two resolutions followed the council’s rejections last week of a Russian resolution that didn’t mention Hamas and also failed to get nine “yes” votes and a widely supported Brazilian resolution vetoed by the United States that would have condemned the Hamas attacks and all violence against civilians and called for “humanitarian pauses.”

After the votes, Malta’s U.N. Ambassador Vanessa Frazier, speaking on behalf of the 10 elected members of the council serving two-year terms, announced they will be working on a new proposal in the coming days.