US Vetoes UN Resolution on Gaza; Pakistan Condemns Move Amid Rising Humanitarian Crisis
New York, Thursday – The United States blocked a UN Security Council resolution calling for an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and demanding that Israel lift restrictions on aid deliveries to the besieged enclave. Pakistan expressed “profound regret” over the veto, criticizing the decision to block a resolution focused purely on humanitarian concerns.
Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN, Asim Iftikhar Ahmad, described the veto as a “dark moment” for the Security Council. Speaking ahead of the 80th General Assembly Session, he said the exercise of the veto carries “a heavy responsibility” and called on those responsible to reconsider their stance.
“In moments of such grave human suffering, preventing the Council from acting risks prolonging that suffering,” Ambassador Ahmad said. “Today’s failure sends a dangerous message: that the lives of two million besieged Palestinians are expendable, subordinated to political considerations.”
Highlighting the dire situation in Gaza, he warned of famine, daily casualties, and the potential displacement of a million people due to ongoing bombardments. He also criticized the expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank, calling it a “stark manifestation of settler colonialism in the 21st century” and a threat to the two-state solution.
Ambassador Ahmad reaffirmed Pakistan’s support for the Palestinian people and called for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire. He urged full access for humanitarian aid and a just, lasting resolution to the Palestinian question, including the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state on pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
“The world is watching. The cries of children should pierce our hearts. The anguish of mothers should shake our conscience,” he said.
Algeria’s UN Ambassador Amar Bendjama also expressed regret after the vote, acknowledging that despite sincere efforts, the Council “was not of any help” to the people of Gaza.
State of Palestine Ambassador Riyadh Mansoor thanked those who tried to end what he described as a “nightmare and genocide against the Palestinian people” and stressed that the international community “cannot fail them any longer.”
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