UAE says 'war must end' after US rejects Gaza ceasefire resolution

UAE Mission to UN expresses disappointment over outcome of UN Security Council vote as war rages on

The US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution on Tuesday, one led by Algeria that called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. Reuters

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The UAE said it was "deeply disappointed" after a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza was rejected by the US.

The Arab-backed resolution, drafted by Algeria, received 13 votes in favour, an abstention from Britain and a US veto on Tuesday.

The text demanded “an immediate humanitarian ceasefire that must be respected by all parties” and the release of all Hamas hostages. It also opposed the "forced displacement of the Palestinian civilian population".

"The UAE is deeply disappointed with the outcome of today's vote in the UN Security Council on the humanitarian ceasefire draft resolution, which was supported by 13 of the 15 members," the UAE Mission to the UN said on X.

"After more than four months of carnage and no end in sight, this war must end."

Like earlier drafts rejected by the US, the Algerian text did not condemn the Hamas-led October 7 assault.

"Proceeding with a vote today was wishful and irresponsible ... we cannot support a resolution that would put sensitive negotiations in jeopardy," Washington's UN ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said before the vote.

Decision 'deepens catastrophe'

Dr Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the President, said the rejection of the ceasefire proposal was 'regrettable" and spoke of the dire consequences of the conflict.

"Vetoing the draft resolution submitted by our sister Algeria in the Security Council, which calls for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, is regrettable and deepens the humanitarian catastrophe," he wrote on X following the vote.

"The international order based on clear and frank legal foundations is once again collapsing in the face of narrow political considerations in light of unprecedented human suffering, the price of which is being paid by civilians."

The death toll in Gaza has risen to 29,195, with 69,170 wounded, according to the latest figures from the Gaza Health Ministry.