Russia and China on Friday vetoed a resolution proposed by the United States at the U.N. Security Council that would have asked for a cease-fire in Gaza in connection with the release of hostages by the Hamas militant group.
A total of 11 countries of the 15-member council, including Japan, voted in favor of the resolution, while Guyana abstained. Algeria voted against it.
The resolution would have expressed "the imperative for an immediate" and sustained cease-fire and supported the ongoing indirect negotiations under way between Israel and Hamas "to secure such a cease-fire in connection with the release of all remaining hostages."
The draft also condemned the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel by the Hamas militant group as "acts of terrorism."
"We were trying to show the international community a sense of urgency about getting a cease-fire tied to the release of hostages," U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters in Tel Aviv after the vote.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield, Washington's envoy to the world body, said, "Russia and China simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the United States, because it would rather see us fail than to see this council succeed."
The death toll in the Gaza Strip has topped 32,000 since the war between Israel and Hamas began, according to the Palestinian health authorities.
"What we want is (an) immediate, unconditional ceasefire, without linking this issue to many other issues," Zhang Jun, the Ambassador of China, told reporters before the vote.
During the council session, Russia's U.N. ambassador Vassily Nebenzia slammed the draft resolution as "exceedingly politicized" and criticized past U.S. vetoes of cease-fires in Gaza.
"We have already stated that we will no longer tolerate pointless resolutions which do not contain a call for a ceasefire which (leads) us to nowhere," Nebenzia said.
The United States, which supports Israel in its fight against Hamas, has so far vetoed four attempts by the key world security panel to seek a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip since the start of the conflict.
The 15-member council consists of five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States -- each of which holds a veto. For any resolution to pass, at least nine members must vote in favor while no permanent member exercises its veto power.
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