\n<\/p>\n
The United States on Tuesday cast the sole vote against a United Nations Security Council resolution that would have called for an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, saying it feared it could disrupt hostage negotiations.<\/p>\n
It was the third time Washington wielded its veto to block a resolution demanding a stop to fighting in Gaza, underlining America\u2019s isolation in its continued, forceful backing of Israel.<\/p>\n
Over four months of war, Israel has come under increasing international pressure over the scope and intensity of its campaign against Hamas in Gaza, with many leaders decrying the high civilian death toll.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Algeria\u2019s U.N. ambassador, Amar Bendjama, lashed out at the United States on Tuesday, telling the Council that the veto \u201cimplies an endorsement of the brutal violence and collective punishment inflicted upon\u201d the Palestinians. He said \u201csilence is not a viable option, now is the time for action and the time for truth.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
The diplomatic maneuvering comes at a time when aid organizations are warning that urgent assistance is needed for a population suffering from severe malnutrition and the spread of infectious disease.<\/p>\n
Thirteen Security Council members voted in favor of the resolution, which was drafted by Algeria, while Britain abstained.<\/p>\n
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, said that the resolution would jeopardize Washington\u2019s continuing negotiation efforts with Qatar and Egypt<\/a> to broker a deal that would release hostages from Gaza in exchange for a temporary humanitarian cease-fire. Those negotiations have stumbled, with neither Israel nor Hamas reaching a consensus on the terms for a deal.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n \u201cAny action the council takes right now should help not hinder these sensitive and ongoing negotiations,\u201d Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said. \u201cDemanding an immediate unconditional cease-fire without an agreement requiring Hamas to release the hostages will not bring endurable peace.\u201d<\/p>\n Aid agencies were scathing in their criticism of the U.S. position. Avril Benoit, the executive director of Doctors Without Borders in the United States, called the repeated blocking of cease-fire resolutions by the United States \u201cunconscionable.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe United States at the U.N. Security Council is effectively sabotaging all efforts to bring assistance,\u201d she said at a panel on Tuesday with other leaders of aid organizations. \u201cThe statements are one thing, the actions are another. We see that a cease-fire is the only way to ensure the safe delivery of assistance to the people who need it most.\u201d<\/p>\n Israeli and U.S. officials have argued that an immediate cease-fire would allow Hamas to regroup and fortify in Gaza, and reduce the pressure for making a deal to release hostages held in the territory.<\/p>\n The United States has drafted a rival resolution, which is still in early stages of negotiations, that calls for a temporary humanitarian cease-fire \u201cas soon as practicable,\u201d and the release of hostages. The draft resolution\u2019s use of the term \u201ccease-fire\u201d would be a first for the United States since the war in Gaza began.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n The draft also states that Israel\u2019s army must not carry out an offensive in Rafah under the current conditions there.<\/p>\n With the United States expected to circulate its draft among Council members, two diplomats said that the resolution would be challenged, given the U.S. veto on Tuesday, and that Russia and China were expected to veto.<\/p>\n Waves of Palestinians have sought refuge in Rafah in recent months after Israeli ground forces pushed into the cities in northern Gaza, and then advanced southward. Israeli officials have said they are working on a plan to evacuate Rafah of civilians, and that they intend to destroy Hamas battalions there \u2014 one of Israel\u2019s primary objectives since the Oct. 7 attacks that Hamas led into Israel, killing about 1,200 people, according to Israeli officials.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n But in a sign that fighting remained active in the north despite four months of bombardment there, Israel\u2019s military ordered two neighborhoods of Gaza City to evacuate on Tuesday. The U.N.\u2019s World Food Program also said it was halting deliveries in the north on Tuesday, describing scenes of chaos as its teams faced looting, hungry crowds and gunfire in recent days.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n While the fiercest fighting and most intense bombing has in recent weeks shifted further south, to areas around the city of Khan Younis, the evacuation order from Israel\u2019s military on Tuesday for the Zaytoun and Turkoman neighborhoods of Gaza City highlighted the feeling expressed by many Gazans that nowhere is safe. More than 29,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel\u2019s campaign began, according to the territory\u2019s health officials.<\/p>\n World Food Program deliveries had been suspended for the past three weeks in the north because of safety concerns, and the agency was attempting to restart them on Sunday with an initial convoy. But the trucks were surrounded by \u201ccrowds of hungry people\u201d while en route toward Gaza City and forced to fend off attempts to climb onto the vehicles, it said in a statement.<\/p>\n Another convoy on Monday \u201cfaced complete chaos and violence due to the collapse of civil order,\u201d the statement added, saying that several trucks were looted and a driver was beaten.<\/p>\n The World Food Program pointed to a U.N. report published on Monday showing that acute malnutrition has surged in the northern part of the enclave, with one out of six children in the north of the territory suffering its effects. <\/p>\n