US faces pressure in UN Security Council vote on Gaza today

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The United Nations Security Council is slated to vote today on the latest call for a ceasefire and increased humanitarian access to Gaza, a move supported by a majority seeking to act despite repeated US vetoes, AFP reports.

The 10 non-permanent members initiated discussions on the current draft resolution in late August, in response to the UN’s official declaration of famine after nearly two years of Israel’s war on the Palestinian territory.

An earlier draft primarily demanded lifting barriers to aid, but diplomatic sources told AFP that France, the United Kingdom and Russia were sceptical of the value of a purely humanitarian resolution from a body tasked with maintaining world peace, which the US still could have blocked.

The draft that is up for a vote today, which was reviewed by AFP, calls for opening access to aid but also “demands an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza respected by all parties” as well as the immediate and unconditional release of hostages.

The latest attempt is a refusal to submit to the threat of a US veto, a European diplomat told AFP. “Not even trying just makes it too easy for the US, [in] that they don’t have to justify [it] and confront 14 members of the council and the world public,” the diplomat said.

“It doesn’t help much the Palestinians on the ground but at least we keep showing that we are trying.”

 A mourner reacts during the funeral of Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli strikes, according to medics, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on September 17, 2025. — Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas
A mourner reacts during the funeral of Palestinians killed in overnight Israeli strikes, according to medics, at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City on September 17, 2025. — Reuters/Dawoud Abu Alkas

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