US will veto UN Security Council resolution on Gaza ceasefire unless it is tied to hostages’ release, official says

The United States will veto a UN Security Council resolution for a ceasefire in Israel’s war in Gaza if it is brought to a vote in its current form, a senior US official says, as Washington will not support a text that does not call for the immediate release of hostages.

The official, briefing reporters ahead of a potential vote later today, says some council members are more interested in bringing about a US veto than compromising on the resolution, accusing Russia and China of encouraging those members.

In March, the US abstained from a resolution that similarly called for an immediate ceasefire during the Ramadan holy month along with an immediate and unconditional release of the hostages in Gaza. The demands were merged into the same sentence at the request of the US, which argued then that this was sufficient to prevent it from vetoing. The US argued then that the resolution effectively conditioned a ceasefire on a hostage deal even though this linkage wasn’t explicit in the text.

Similar to the March resolution, the text submitted today also places the demands for an immediate ceasefire and immediate and unconditional hostage release in the same paragraph, albeit without an explicit conditionality between them.

Spokespeople for the US Mission to the UN did not respond to requests for clarification on what led Washington to shift its stance on the matter.