Robert Wood, Deputy US envoy to the UN, addressing UN Security meeting on the Middle East situation on November 20, 2024 (Photo: AFP)

The resolution, sponsored by 10 non-permanent members of the 15 members of the Security Council, called for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. The Council voted overwhelmingly in favor of the resolution ­– 14 of the 15 members voted “yes” – but it was doomed by the US veto.

A durable end to the conflict must come with the release of the hostages detained by Hamas, a US official said. Robert Wood, the deputy US envoy to the UN told a session in New York that the text of the resolution would have sent a dangerous message to the Palestinian militant group Hamas that there's no need to come back to the negotiating table, and that the international community is forgetting about the fate of more than 100 hostages from 20 member states, including seven Americans, who have been held for the last 410 days.