S/PV.10000 Security Council

I have some special remarks for today’s event. The 10000th meeting of the Security Council is upon us. It is a number that is large and significant, like the challenges that remain before us on the Council’s agenda. This meeting is held at the start of the eightieth anniversary of the United Nations, on the eve of the high-level week, when our leaders will gather together here in New York in pursuit of the Organization’s noble mission, rooted in its Charter. Some 137 Member States have worked on the Security Council, often in concert, over the course of these 10,000 meetings. Let us bear this in mind as we continue to strive to fulfil the Security Council’s vital mandate. Adoption of the agenda

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of Israel to participate in this meeting. I propose that the Council invite the Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine to the United Nations to participate in the meeting, in accordance with the provisional rules of procedure and the previous practice in this regard. There being no objection, it is so decided. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2025/583, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia and Somalia. The Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements before the voting.

I have the honor to deliver this statement on behalf of the 10 elected members of the Security Council, namely Algeria, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia and my own country, Denmark. As elected members, we represent every region of the world. Importantly, we represent the will and the expectations of the Members of the General Assembly, by whom we were elected. In electing us, they entrusted us with the solemn responsibility to maintain international peace and security. It is in this spirit, and with this grave responsibility in mind, that we collectively and resolutely present today’s draft resolution (S/2025/583). Famine has been confirmed in Gaza — not projected, not declared — confirmed. Desperate mothers are forced to boil leaves to feed their children. Fathers search the rubble for sustenance. People are killed as they try to get food to survive. A generation risks being lost not only to war, but to hunger and despair. Meanwhile, Israel has expanded its military operation in Gaza City, further deepening the suffering of civilians as a result. It is this catastrophic situation, this humanitarian and human failure, that has compelled us to act today. This is the product of weeks of consultations. The sole intent of this draft resolution is to ease suffering and contribute to the end of this abhorrent war. So let this draft resolution send a clear message, a message that the Security Council is not turning its back on starving civilians, on the hostages and on the demand for a ceasefire. Let it say that we support humanitarian workers and health personnel struggling against impossible odds; that when a war is live-streamed around the world, daily and in graphic detail, we have the decency to act; that international law matters; that humanitarian principles matter; and that the principles of humanity inscribed in the Charter of the United Nations guide us. We, the 10 elected members of the Security Council, call on all Council members to vote in favor of the draft resolution and to uphold the Council’s responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security.

United States opposition to this draft resolution (S/2025/583) will come as no surprise. It fails to condemn Hamas or recognize Israel’s right to defend itself, and it wrongly legitimizes the false narratives benefiting Hamas, which have sadly found currency in the Security Council. Council members ignored when the United States made clear that the draft resolution was unacceptable. The Council instead opted for a performative action, designed to draw a veto, that extends Hamas terrorists and those who fund them and support them and gives them a lifeline. Let us recall that Hamas started this brutal conflict on 7 October 2023, when it perpetrated the worst massacre and kidnapping of Jews since the Holocaust. To the approval of its supporters, who took to the streets on 8 October to praise what Hamas had done, Hamas promises to repeat 7 October. Despite everything, Hamas has no regrets. The lives of Gaza’s civilians in harm’s way are mere tools in the project to destroy Israel. Hamas continues to hold 48 hostages. Those who remain alive are captive in a living hell. It has done so for 713 days. We have seen the chilling videos and images of how Hamas has starved the hostages. In the Council we have heard heartrending testimony from freed hostages of how Hamas brutalized and sexually assaulted them during their captivity. Hamas is responsible for starting and continuing this war. Israel has accepted proposed terms that would end the war, but Hamas continues to reject them. This war could end today if Hamas freed the hostages and laid down its arms. The draft resolution has other serious defects beyond just failing to condemn Hamas. First, the United States has stressed since this conflict began that Israel has the right to defend itself. The draft resolution seeks an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire that would leave Hamas in a position to carry out future 7 October attacks, as it has threatened to do many times. The draft resolution draws a dangerous false equivalence between Israel and Hamas. There can be no equating the two — full stop. The draft resolution also refuses to acknowledge and seeks to return to a failed system that has allowed Hamas to enrich and strengthen itself at the expense of civilians in need. The draft resolution wrongly references the report of the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, with its flawed methodology, changed standards and clear bias. Gaza has humanitarian needs because of Hamas, and because the international community turned a blind eye to the true use of the billions in aid that it provided. Israel takes clear risks by working every single day with the United States and regional partners to deliver aid to civilians, as we witnessed today. As Ambassador Huckabee said, initial reports show a terrorist arrived at Allenby crossing, driving an aid truck intended for Gaza, and murdered two Israeli soldiers. This heinous act betrays the trust in humanitarian efforts. We offer our condolences to the bereaved families of those members of the Israel Defense Forces. The draft resolution fails to recognize the reality on the ground that there has been a meaningful increase in the flow of humanitarian aid. However, the United Nations own data shows that approximately 85 per cent of United Nations aid sent to Gaza since 19 May has been intercepted. We must ensure that the aid reaches the civilians who need it, rather than sustaining the Hamas terrorists. The Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF) supports that goal, delivering more than 167 million meals to date to those in need, rather than to Hamas. The GHF works well, and it is untainted by the extreme failure of other organizations of the United Nations. The United Nations and Council members should support the GHF and other mechanisms, including airdrops by Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and international partners, facilitating deliveries of food and other supplies into Gaza. Those mechanisms have delivered humanitarian assistance and other goods to those in need and denied Hamas the supply on which they have come to rely. Therefore, the United States rejects this unacceptable draft resolution. It is beyond time that Hamas release every single hostage now and surrender immediately. The United States will continue to work with its partners to bring an end to this horrific conflict for the sake of the people of Gaza, who deserve a future free from Hamas, and of the whole Middle East, which is ready to move to a new chapter of peace and prosperity. For these reasons, the United States of America will vote against the draft resolution and urges delegations to join us in voting against it.

I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

The draft resolution received 14 votes in favour, 1 vote against and no abstentions. The draft resolution has not been adopted, owing to the negative vote of a permanent member of the Council.

I begin my statement today, in this 10000th meeting of the Security Council, with an apology — an apology to the people of Palestine, in particular in Gaza, to those whose eyes are turned to the Council today. We, Algerians, hear you. Palestinian sisters, Palestinian brothers: forgive us. Forgive us in particular in Gaza, where fire consumes and rubble suffocates. Forgive us because the Council could not save your children. More than 18,000 of them have been killed by Israel. Forgive us because the Council could not protect your women. More than 12,000 of them have been killed by Israel. Forgive us because the Council could not shield your elderly. More than 4,000 of them have been killed by Israel. Forgive us because the Council could not defend your doctors and your nurses. More than 1,400 of them have been killed by Israel. Forgive us because we could not defend your journalists. More than 250 of them have been killed by Israel. Forgive us because we could not protect your aid workers. More than 500 of them have been killed by Israel. Forgive us because famine now spreads in Gaza and the Council could not stop it. It could not even act to denounce it. Forgive us because the Council could not halt your forced displacement and because humanitarian aid is turned into a weapon and this very Council could not break the siege of Gaza. Forgive us because the world speaks of rights but denies them to you Palestinians. Forgive us because our sincere efforts shattered against the wall of rejection. Despite these sincere efforts, the Security Council was not of any help for you. Why was that so? Because Israel is shielded. Because it is immune, not under international law but because of the bias of this international system. Israel kills every day and nothing happens. Israel starves a people and nothing happens. Israel bombs hospitals, schools and shelters and nothing happens. Israel attacks a mediator and steps on diplomacy and nothing happens. And with every unpunished act, humankind itself is diminished. History will not weigh our speeches. It will weigh our deeds. When Gaza burned, when children starved, when hospitals fell under the bombs, did we act? Yet know this: today 14 courageous members of the Security Council raised their voices. They have acted with conscience, echoing the calls of international public opinion. Palestinian sisters and brothers, be assured we will not give up. This is not the last time the Council will act. The international community must shoulder its duty. Again, the Council failed, leaving another scar on the conscience of humankind. There must be shame in helplessness, and shame in the face of the genocide unfolding before open eyes. To those still in denial, read the report of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. Its words are clear: “The Commission concludes that the State of Israel bears responsibility for the failure to prevent genocide, the commission of genocide and the failure to punish genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.” The Council has already failed twice to prevent genocide. Today, it appears we are on the verge of witnessing a third failure. At this moment there can be no ambiguity. Each of us must choose either to act to stop the genocide or to be counted among those who were complicit. Palestine has never been surrendered to empires or invaders. Those who sought to subdue it are remembered only in shame. Palestine is for the Palestinians and Algeria, as President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has vowed, will never abandon them, not until the establishment of a Palestinian State with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.

On this 10000th meeting of the Security Council, we are reminded of the immense responsibility and the solemn promise carried by this Today, as we confront the tragedy unfolding in Gaza, that responsibility weighs heavier than ever. We have voted in favour of this draft resolution (S/2025/583) today because the situation in Gaza is urgent and needs immediate attention. As we speak, the Israel Defense Forces military operations are expanding rapidly, and an unprecedented famine and humanitarian catastrophe are unfolding before our own eyes by the hour, compounding the suffering of civilians, mainly women and children. The world looks to the Council for action, yet today we failed to adopt a draft resolution aimed at safeguarding the basic rights of Gaza’s people. This is not just a procedural lapse but a profound moral failing. The elected 10 (E10) draft resolution is grounded in the very language and the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations, reaffirming the principles that we have all pledged to uphold. It called for what should be a foundational minimum, namely an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, the release of all hostages, the unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid and respect for international law by all parties. And yet, time and again, the Council has been blocked from taking action, with sometimes explicit and more often unspoken dangerous language and dangerous logic being invoked whereby the suffering of some is more tolerable than the suffering of others and the lives of certain people matter less. It is a notion that has stained our history before, and it is one that we must reject completely. The moment we begin to measure the worth of human life by nationality, ethnicity or circumstances, we lose the very foundation on which this institution was built. The world is now watching. Every delay, every evocation signals to those under siege that their pain is negotiable, their rights conditional, their lives expendable. We cannot allow the logic of lesser lives to take root here in the Security Council. If we do, we not only fail the people of Gaza — we fail ourselves and the ideals of the founding values of the United Nations and the overwhelming consensus of the international community. I thank all those members who voted in favour of the draft resolution. Their support is a beacon of hope and a reaffirmation of our shared commitment to peace and human dignity. To my colleagues in the E10, our work is far from over. We remain steadfast in our mission to end Palestinian suffering and advance just and lasting peace in the Middle East. There is no doubt that the foundation of peace in the Middle East is to address the root causes of this ongoing crisis that underlie the occupation itself, now in its fifth decade. Somalia reaffirms its steadfast support for the Palestinian people and their legitimate right to self-determination and the return and establishment of an independent and sovereign State, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. Our delegation reiterates its call for an end to the occupation and an immediate permanent ceasefire, the release of all arbitrary detainees and the urgent resumption of a credible and inclusive political process under international auspices. We recognize and support the ongoing ceasefire efforts led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States and look towards the upcoming High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, to be held in the General Assembly next week, with hope and determination. We urge all Member States to approach that T with a spirit of responsibility and genuine commitment to just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. Somalia remains committed to the pursuit of just and lasting peace in accordance with the principles of Charter of the United Nations to bring an end to the prolonged suffering of the occupied Palestinian territory and the wider region. We align ourselves with the remarks of the Permanent Representative of Denmark. Pakistan profoundly regrets that the Council was unable to adopt a draft resolution submitted by the 10 elected members — a draft resolution aimed solely at addressing the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Gaza. This was not a routine procedural matter  — it was an opportunity to act in the face of unprecedented brutality, devastation and mass displacement in Gaza as the Israeli ground invasion intensifies. But let us be clear: it is not for lack of will or initiative. A clear majority of Council members have consistently demanded urgent action to stop the carnage in Gaza, and we have fulfilled our part of that responsibility. What prevented the Council from acting was the exercise of the veto. That carries a heavy responsibility, and that is where the apology must lie. In moments of such grave human suffering, preventing the Council from fulfilling its mandate risks being seen as enabling the continuation of that suffering. Those who have chosen this course must review their position. The people of Gaza are trapped between relentless bombardment and a suffocating blockade. Children are starving. Hospitals have collapsed. Families have no water, no medicine, no shelter. The occupation army has subjected Gaza City to its most punishing attacks in two years of war, sending thousands of residents fleeing under bombs and bullets amid fears that they might never return. This is not a tragedy unfolding in silence — it is happening before the eyes of the world, in plain sight, live on our screens and on the front pages of our newspapers. In that grim setting, today’s failure sends a dangerous message that the lives of 2 million besieged Palestinians are deemed expendable and can be subordinated to political considerations. Every hour of obstruction deepens the wound and aggravates the suffering of the people of Gaza. Each failure compounds the cost also for the credibility of the Council. The human toll is staggering. More than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed. Famine has been officially declared in Gaza, with more than 400 deaths already caused by starvation. Infrastructure lies in ruins. Hospitals, schools, water and energy systems have been deliberately targeted and devastated. Aid workers, journalists — no one has been spared, and generations have been wiped out. Families are enduring unimaginable suffering. And yes, the safety of hostages is being compromised. Their cries may also be being drowned out by the roars of the bombs, together with the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. And while any moves by the Council have been prevented, there have been assurances of action on the ground, and those assurances have rung hollow, as the situation has only worsened, as we have seen. Let me repeat, the majority of Council members have acted responsibly. We have fulfilled our duty under the Charter. The shortcomings lie not with the Council as a whole but with the constraints imposed on it. Several grim realities underscore the urgency of action. The first is famine. Already declared in Gaza City, famine threatens to spread across the Strip. Then there is the military escalation. Ignoring the calls for a ceasefire and having repeatedly undermined and sabotaged the negotiations, the Israeli onslaught on Gaza City is now claiming dozens of lives daily and could uproot 1 million people. There are the West Bank annexation plans. The expansion of illegal settlements in the West Bank, including the latest E1 plan, exposes the entrenched nature of the occupation and its true intentions, a death knell to the two-State solution. What a stark manifestation of settler colonialism in the twenty-first century. Pakistan reaffirms its unwavering support for the Palestinian people in their just struggle for self-determination, dignity and justice. We reiterate the call for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire and an end to all military operations; an immediate, unconditional end to starvation and the inhumane blockade with full, unimpeded access through multiple entry and distribution points for humanitarian aid at scale throughout the Gaza Strip; and a just lasting and peaceful settlement of the Palestinian question with the establishment of a sovereign, contiguous Palestinian State, based on pre-1967 borders, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, in accordance with the relevant United Nations resolutions and international legitimacy. Pakistan stands resolutely with the majority of the Security Council membership and indeed with the majority of the United Nations membership, reflecting the expectations of the wider international community. We stand on the side of humanity and with justice and international law. The world is watching. The cries of children should pierce our hearts. The anguish of mothers should shake our conscience. Palestine looks to the Council, and we cannot turn away. Regardless of the circumstances, we will not remain idle. We will continue to act, to speak and to uphold our responsibilities. This is our duty on behalf of the brave and resilient people of Palestine waging a just struggle against occupation for their inalienable right to self-determination and freedom. And there is no other choice.

At the outset, France thanks the 10 elected members of the Security Council for this draft resolution (S/2025/583). France voted in favour of this document. It was not adopted, despite the support of 14 of the 15 members of the Council. However, we all agree on one thing: an absolute tragedy is unfolding before our eyes in Gaza. The draft resolution was focused on humanitarian issues and reiterated three equally important demands. The first demand was an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. France strongly condemns the expansion and intensification of the Israeli offensive in Gaza City. This offensive has already led to the forced displacement of 300,000 people. It is exacerbating the humanitarian and health situations, which are already marked by famine and a lack of access to basic necessities and urgent care. France reiterates its opposition to any plan to occupy the Gaza Strip and forcibly displace its population. It calls on Israel to end this destructive campaign, which no longer has any military logic, and to resume negotiations as soon as possible with a view to achieving a ceasefire and the release of all the hostages. The second demand of the draft resolution is the immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all the hostages to put an end to the martyrdom, which nothing can justify and which has lasted far too long. France once again unequivocally condemns the terrorist attacks of 7 October 2023, committed by Hamas, which must be disarmed and excluded from the governance of Gaza. One hundred and forty-two States resolutely affirmed this demand by endorsing the New York Declaration on the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution (A/CONF.243/2025/1, annex) on 12 September. The third demand is that the Israeli Government respect its international legal obligations and immediately remove all obstacles to the delivery of humanitarian aid. The Security Council must also work to implement in practice the two-State solution, based on the agreed parameters. France will co-chair with Saudi Arabia the High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution on 22 September. This Conference, which is supported by the vast majority of Member States, is establishing a new and unprecedented political and collective dynamic that will pave the way for a new path to peace and security for all in the region. Dame Barbara Woodward (United Kingdom): The United Kingdom voted in favour of this draft resolution (S/2025/583) today to demand urgent action to address the appalling humanitarian situation in Gaza, bring the hostages home and end the conflict which has raged for almost two years. Since Hamas’ atrocities of 7 October 2023, hostages have been held in unimaginable conditions in Gaza. The Security Council has been consistent in its demand for the release of the hostages in each of its four resolutions, and today’s text underlined this demand again. The images of emaciated hostages held in brutal conditions speaks to the brutality of Hamas. It must allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to see the hostages and care for their needs. We reiterate our condemnation of Hamas and its terrorist ideology. Hamas must have no role in the future of Gaza. Last week, the General Assembly delivered a resounding message in support of this, with 142 countries voting to condemn Hamas’ attacks and to demand it disarm and end its rule in Gaza. We need a ceasefire more than ever. Yet Israel’s reckless expansion of its military operation takes us further away from a deal that could bring the hostages home and end the suffering in Gaza. We are witnessing an entirely human-made famine in Gaza and images of starving Palestinians killed while desperately seeking scraps of food for their families. This week, Israel struck Gaza City children’s hospital. Newborn babies in incubators and children on dialysis should not be under bombardment. We urge Israel’s Government to end the bloodshed, which has already cost the lives of 65,000 Palestinians, and to immediately lift its restrictions on the entry of aid and allow the United Nations and humanitarian agencies to save lives. The United Kingdom thanks the 10 elected members of the Security Council for drafting and consulting on today’s draft resolution. We regret the Council was unable to reach consensus on today’s draft resolution. Nevertheless, we remain committed to the vision of this text. We will continue to do all we can to end this conflict, bring the hostages home and work with our partners on a pathway to peace to achieve a secure Israel alongside an independent Palestinian State.

We extend our gratitude to the non-permanent members of the Council for their initiative and perseverance in putting forward this draft resolution (S/2025/583), addressing the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip. The Russian Federation voted in favour of this document, which outlines the key elements for a prompt solution, including an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, the release of all hostages held by Hamas, the lifting of the severe humanitarian blockade of Gaza and guaranteed safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to all those in need. Regrettably, during this 10000th meeting of the Security Council, we have witnessed yet another American veto — the seventh — blocking a draft resolution that could have halted the bloodletting. There is a tragic symbolism in these figures. There will be no breakthrough in a solution to the question of the Middle East as long as Washington’s perception of the Gaza crisis remains unchanged, and as long as it views multilateral diplomacy at the United Nations as an obstacle, rather than as a critically important tool. The Security Council will remain a helpless witness to this catastrophe, paralysed not by some inherent structural flaw, but by the will — or more accurately by the lack thereof — of one single delegation. We call on our United States colleagues to acknowledge a simple truth. Their declared quiet diplomacy on the ground, as they put it, is not being undermined by the reasoned voices of the global community, including those in this Chamber. Rather, it is being undermined by the concrete actions of their Israeli ally, which was glaringly evidenced by West Jerusalem’s aggressive manoeuvre against the sovereign State of Qatar, one of the key mediators in the negotiation process. That act was, essentially, an assault on the very idea of achieving an agreement. It discredited any assertions that Israel is allegedly ready to embrace diplomacy and reach a deal. Blaming Hamas for derailing the talks, as our American colleagues are persistently doing, is utterly absurd. Amid Israel’s appalling actions against Qatar and the launch of Israel’s operation to fully take over Gaza City, which risks further casualties among Palestinian civilians, the inaction of the Council flies in the face of the demands for justice being voiced in the streets of many world capitals, including New York, where ordinary citizens are taking to the streets to protest against the conflict in the Gaza Strip. This call must be heeded. In this regard, the resumption of the High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, in New York next week, is highly significant. We hope that the outcomes of the Conference will be practical and constructive in nature and will breathe new life into the two-State solution, to which there is and there never will be any alternative. We call on the United States and Israel to join this process, rather than turn their backs on the international community — as was the case in the past — and obstruct its efforts to find a solution to this harrowing regional crisis. In the same vein, we deem unacceptable the United States’ outrageous attempts to leverage visa procedures to push through its self-centred political interests. We urge Washington to reconsider its decision to deny visas to members of the Palestinian delegation who are supposed to attend the high-level week of the General Assembly. Even though today’s attempt failed, this does not mean that we have to throw in the towel. We stand ready to act, and we will keep advancing our consistent position on this matter, however long this may take. We cherish the hope that the other sensible members of the Council share this view, because without a just and lasting solution to the Palestinian problem, without respect for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, it will not be possible to achieve a lasting solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, nor genuine peace and stability in the Middle East. We trust that ultimately there will be 15 sensible members, not 15 minus one. Panama supported the draft resolution, whose purpose was not to provoke a veto, because it contained elements that are essential and that cannot be postponed: stopping the killing of civilians through an immediate and sustained ceasefire in Gaza that would also facilitate the effective flow of humanitarian assistance; guaranteeing the immediate, dignified and unconditional release of all hostages; lifting restrictions on access to vital humanitarian aid to Gaza, which intentionally or unintentionally make hunger a method of oppression and control; and restoring basic services that would keep a population on the brink of collapse alive. However, the Council has, unfortunately, once again been paralysed, and not because there is a lack of proposals or frameworks for action. In June 2024 this organ adopted resolution 2735 (2024), which clearly outlined a three-phase plan: an immediate cessation of hostilities, the progressive release of hostages, the withdrawal of forces and a reconstruction plan for Gaza. In January of this year, Israel and Hamas agreed on a ceasefire, which largely followed what was set out in resolution 2735 (2024). This shows that Council resolutions and initiatives do not undermine additional mediation efforts; rather, they serve as benchmarks and guidance on how to bring them to fruition. The experience of the temporary truce, albeit fragile, showed clearly that it was possible to stop the human suffering, to allow for the effective delivery of humanitarian assistance to Gaza and to work towards releasing the hostages. The collapse of the truce in March was the result of a lack of trust and political will in support of peace. Since then, no negotiation efforts have been able to restore it. Today, six months since the ceasefire broke on 18 March, approximately 13,800 more Palestinians have died in Gaza. Furthermore, since the previous veto in the Council on the situation in Gaza on 4 June (see S/PV.9929), 106 days have passed. In that time, approximately 6,800 people have lost their lives in Gaza — that is to say, an average of 64 people every day, three per hour. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification has declared famine in Gaza. More than 425 people, including 125 children, have died from hunger — victims not of scarcity but of the impediments placed on the delivery of food and medicine. The hostages and their families have also paid an unbearable price, stuck in a limbo that has prolonged the suffering and uncertainty since the atrocious and cruel attack of 7 October 2023. The future of the hostages grows darker every day, subject to greater dangers. The United Nations and its humanitarian staff have not been an exception either. In the past five days, 10 of their buildings in Gaza, including schools and clinics where thousands of displaced people were seeking shelter, have been attacked. Moreover, journalists documenting the tragedy have also been killed in unprecedented numbers in an attempt to silence the truth and obscure the reality of what is going on in Gaza. Today we are holding the 10000th meeting of the Security Council — a well-known fact that, in this meeting, should serve as a symbol of the morality and responsibility of a body capable of taking action and protecting humankind. However, the meeting is instead marked by the most painful contrast. As the Council accumulates meetings, humankind accumulates death and destruction. The mediation led by Qatar, Egypt and the United States, which should be a hopeful opportunity for dialogue and consensus faced with the extreme rift between the parties, has been increasingly weakened by scepticism and an uncompromising logic of violence. In another blow If the Council, through the resolutions adopted, has already defined a path towards peace and that path has been abandoned, we must asked ourselves what is really being pursued: allowing millions of Palestinians to disappear from Gaza; allowing the hostages to die in the oblivion of the tunnels, reduced to collateral damage; allowing the normalization of hunger, devastation and the death of children with parched lips and empty stomachs? The current situation is unsustainable. It is not a way out, and it is not a solution. Devastation and the seeds of hatred that have been sown will not bring security or peace, and neither will the Council’s inaction achieve a future of dignity and humanity for Israelis or Palestinians. Panama calls for what the Council should be able to demand with one voice in line with the fundamental responsibility entrusted to it by the Charter of the United Nations for the maintenance of international peace and security — an immediate and sustained ceasefire, the unhindered delivery of humanitarian aid and the release of all hostages, as well as the start of a serious political process that will return the parties to the path to reconciliation and peace.

On 9 December 1947, at its 222nd meeting (see S/PV.222), the Security Council held its first meeting on Palestine. Today, so many years later, at this 10000th meeting of the Council, 14 member States of the Council decided to definitively respond to the confirmation of famine in Gaza and reiterate our demand for a ceasefire and the release of all hostages held in Gaza. Guyana therefore deeply regrets the use of the veto today, which scuttled these efforts — an effort of the elected 10 members of the Council, deeply conscious of the horrific situation in Gaza and our responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. We employed a consultative manner in the development of this draft resolution (S/2025/583), with the involvement of all member States of the Council at every stage. It is on this note that I extend my deepest appreciation to Ambassador Christina Lassen and the delegation of Denmark for their tireless efforts in piloting us through the drafting process towards the submission of the draft resolution today. The question consuming many in the international community, including many of us around this table, is: what will it take to achieve consensus and for the Security Council to act as one and exercise its responsibility to protect the Palestinian people? In the nearly two years of Israel’s active military operations in Gaza, the breadth of the atrocities unleashed on the Palestinian people has defied every tenet of decency, morality and humanity. More importantly, international law, the very fabric of the international system that we built from the ruins of the Second World War, continues to be violated every single day, in defiance of every warning, every legal ruling, every appeal to the perpetrator of these atrocities. And all of this is being done with total impunity. The result of this impunity is the ongoing commission of genocide. Yes, genocide  — the word that many did not want to use and hoped that they would never have to use — has been confirmed this week by the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel. Impunity has also resulted in the weaponization of starvation to the point of creating a famine in Gaza, while Israel continues to impose restrictions on the delivery of humanitarian aid into Gaza. Displacement, destruction, disease, death — these are the squalid fruits that impunity is bearing in Gaza, and yesterday, another cycle of annexation continued to take root as the occupying Power began its ground operations in Gaza City, following weeks of strikes on high-rise buildings in the city. At the least, my delegation had hoped that there would be political will on the part of each member of the Security Council to coalesce around the core concerns The international community has rightly looked to the Council to defend and protect the right of the Palestinian people to be free from Israel’s tyranny, but again, owing to the continued exercise of the veto prerogative, the Council is constrained. Guyana wants this war on Palestine to end permanently, comprehensively and justly, and we will continue to partner to this end with those who have a role in making this goal a reality. The Security Council is pivotal to this end, and Guyana urges that we keep sounding the alarm bells on Palestine and advocating for the Palestinian people until they are free. The Council has the tools to bring about decisive changes in the situation in Gaza and to prevent further escalation in the region, and we should utilize them. Sadly, once again, we could not do so today, despite the political will of 14 of the 15 member States.

Sierra Leone thanks Denmark for coordinating the process that culminated in the 10 elected members of the Security Council (E10) presenting a draft resolution (S/2025/583). Regrettably, it was not adopted owing to the non-concurring vote of a permanent member. The initiative of the E10 arose from the grave urgency to address the devastating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, compounded by the continued captivity of the hostages held by Hamas for more than 700 days. Sierra Leone voted in favour of the draft resolution out of our conviction that, as Council members, we bear a Charter responsibility to rescue civilians from the scourge of war, marked by immense suffering, hunger, insecurity and continuous loss of life. The draft resolution was clear. It demanded an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire respected by all parties; the immediate and dignified release of all hostages, held in violation of international humanitarian law; and full and unimpeded humanitarian access at scale so that food, water, medicine and fuel reach those in desperate need. Had the draft resolution been adopted in this historic 10000th meeting of the Council, it would have fulfilled the Council’s most urgent duty to halt the unconscionable suffering of civilians, especially children, who have borne the brunt of this war. We recall with sorrow the August briefing by Ms. Inger Ashing, Chief Executive Officer of Save the Children International, whose testimony of famine and malnutrition etched on the frail bodies of children must stir our collective conscience (see S/PV.9987). In Gaza today, children face hunger and disease instead of classrooms and playgrounds. Sierra Leone is gravely concerned by the continuation of the conflict, which deepens despair. The immediate ceasefire that would have been demanded could have supported the resumed High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia. Only a just and lasting political solution can end this cycle of violence and deliver security for both Palestinians and Israelis. We regret that the non-adoption of this largely humanitarian draft resolution leaves unaddressed the urgent demand for Israel to lift all restrictions on humanitarian aid into Gaza, following confirmation of famine in Gaza governorate and its spread to other areas in recent weeks. Under the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, no State may turn away. The duty to prevent genocide is binding on all, and failure to act would make the Council complicit in one of the gravest crimes known to humankind. Fourteen members of the Council acted. The Council and the international community cannot avert their gaze when children are starved, schools destroyed and civilians massacred. Again, today, 14 of its members acted, and not for the first time. Constrained by the veto, we must continue to act to end the genocide in Gaza. Human dignity demands it. International law requires it. The International Court of Justice has clarified that, under the Genocide Convention, States have not only a duty to punish genocide after it occurs, but an active duty to prevent it when there is a serious risk. The alarm was raised. This obligation requires due diligence. Once a State knows, or should know, that genocide is at risk, it must use all reasonably available means — diplomatic, political, economic or otherwise lawful — to stop it. The Court, in Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Bosnia and Herzegovina v. Serbia and Montenegro), found that failure to act, despite influence over those who carried out the Srebrenica genocide, breached their obligation. This duty is owed erga omnes, to the international community as a whole. The Court has further underlined that complicity in genocide is prohibited. A State cannot lawfully provide aid, cover or assistance to the perpetrators if it knows genocide is being or about to be committed. In its provisional measures in Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel), the Court reaffirmed these principles, ordering Israel to refrain from acts that could constitute genocide, to prevent and punish incitement and to allow humanitarian relief into Gaza to avoid conditions that could destroy a protected group, the Palestinian people. These rulings remind us that there can be no neutrality or silence in the face of genocide. To close, let us be clear. Unlike Pontius Pilate, States cannot wash their hands of their responsibility. The blood of innocent children cries out for justice. The Council, although constrained by the veto, and the international community must not remain indifferent.

We regret the use of the veto, which prevented the Security Council from taking action today. This draft resolution (S/2025/583) was short and simple, despite the multilayered catastrophe unfolding in Gaza. Last month, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification confirmed that famine has taken parts of Gaza and is threatening to spread across the Strip. In the last few weeks, Israel has started its deadly offensive in Gaza City. This week, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel presented its report. Almost two years into this conflict, we are still shocked by new milestones and heartbroken by lives lost and the tragedies that we can no longer even bear witness to, as Gaza is cut off from the world. It was not intention of the elected members to negotiate long texts. That does not mean we did not negotiate in good faith. Our intention was to say that red lines have been crossed, that people cannot be starved, that people cannot be forcibly displaced, that the destruction of lives, of property and of any chance of a ceasefire cannot continue, that civilians cannot be held as a bargaining chip, that people need peace, that hostages need to be released, that both Israelis and Palestinians deserve the resumption of a political process for a vision of two States to become reality. Despite the inaction witnessed today and over the past 23 months, it is our firm belief that efforts by members of the Council will not be in vain. They are a measuring stick for an accountability process that will take place. And today, even when our hands are tied, we demonstrated that we stand against the immense suffering experienced by so many in Gaza. Our efforts today show that the vast majority of the Council and the international community believe that real diplomacy must remain one of dialogue and respect for international law, in Gaza and in wars elsewhere. It is a diplomacy of active choice for peace in the face of new historical responsibilities, a diplomacy of action against the unending and needless deaths of children, mothers and so many others in Gaza, and a diplomacy of hope. A durable peace is within reach, in spite of the devastating reality before us. Let me conclude by thanking Denmark for their coordination of the group of elected members on this initiative and fellow elected 10 members of the Security Council for their unity, moral clarity and determination. As members entrusted by the General Assembly with this responsibility, we stood united for an end to this catastrophe, and by extension, we hope we have clearly shown that the world stands united against the suffering of the people of Gaza.

China is deeply disappointed by the result of today’s vote. The conflict in Gaza has been dragging on for nearly two years, causing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. Time and again, the Security Council has attempted to take action, only to be forcibly blocked by the United States. We cannot help but ask how many more innocent lives must be lost before a ceasefire can be achieved in Gaza. In October 2023, when the United States cast its first veto on a draft resolution on Gaza (see S/PV.9442), the conflict back then had claimed nearly 3,000 lives. Today, with the United States again abusing its veto power, the death toll in Gaza had soared to more than 65,000. Force cannot win peace, nor can violence bring security. Prolonging the fighting will only lead to more deaths and hatred. Israel must immediately cease its military operations in Gaza and halt any dangerous actions that escalate tensions. We hope that the United States can align itself with the international community, work towards the shared goal, uphold a just and responsible stance and make concrete and active efforts to secure a ceasefire. How many more tragedies will it take before humanitarian aid can flow unimpeded? Under the extreme blockade, famine has already set in, in Gaza. Disease is spreading rapidly. The militarized aid distribution mechanism run by the United States and Israel obstructs the United Nations and other humanitarian agencies from delivering aid. Instead of improving the humanitarian situation, this mechanism has claimed the lives of a large number of aid-seeking civilians. The weaponization of humanitarian aid is unacceptable. The violation of international How much longer do we have to wait before the Security Council fulfils its responsibilities? The Council bears the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security and has long reached an overwhelming consensus on issues such as ceasefire and humanitarian affairs in Gaza, yet it is no other than the United States’ passive and obstructive approach to Council action and its intransigent shielding of violations of Council resolutions that have rendered the Council ineffective in addressing the Gaza issue. As a permanent member of the Council, the United States should take its responsibilities seriously, support the Council in effectively fulfilling its mandate, and uphold the role and authority of the United Nations instead of doing the opposite. The international community’s efforts to uphold justice and fairness will not stop. Next week, the eightieth session of the General Assembly will convene its general debate and the High-level International Conference for the Peaceful Settlement of the Question of Palestine and the Implementation of the Two-State Solution. We hope that the relevant country can heed the strong call of the international community and make the right decision, demonstrating a sense of responsibility to life and to history. China will continue to work with the international community to end the fighting in Gaza, alleviate the humanitarian catastrophe and advance the implementation of the two-State solution with a view to ultimately achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting solution to the Palestinian question.

Thank you, Mr. President, for swiftly scheduling today’s vote on the draft resolution presented by the elected members of the Council (S/2025/583), which comes at a most critical juncture, driven by the most dire humanitarian situation of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip. The situation in the Strip is worsening by the hour, adding to an already desperate situation, as thousands are forced to again leave their homes amid ongoing hostilities. Food, water, electricity and medicine remain scarce. Essential needs for human life are being denied to the people of Gaza. Starvation and malnutrition, especially among children, have reached alarming levels. The need to ensure unhindered, safe and sustained access for humanitarian assistance is urgent. At the same time, we have not forgotten the carnage of 7 October 2023. We have not forgotten the hostages who continue to suffer in the hands of Hamas. Their immediate and unconditional release is imperative, and the ceasefire needed now more than ever remains elusive. This unprecedented situation compels us to raise our voices together. We still believe that diplomacy remains the most effective tool, even in the most difficult circumstances. We urge all parties to assume their responsibilities, return to the negotiation table as soon as possible and be guided by international law and international humanitarian law to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe.

Denmark voted in favour of the draft resolution (S/2025/583). We did so because we believe that the Council, as the custodian of international peace and security, has the responsibility to act decisively to address the situation in Gaza. We deeply regret that that was not possible today. By voting in favour, Denmark voted in favour of responding to the catastrophic humanitarian situation which has only deteriorated further with the confirmation of famine in Gaza and the expansion of the Israeli military operation in Gaza City. Our vote in favour is a message to the starving men, women and children: they are not forgotten. It is a vote in favour of upholding international law and demanding that the Government of Israel immediately and unconditionally lift all restrictions Our vote is also a demand for the immediate, unconditional and dignified release of all the hostages who have been cruelly held by Hamas and other terrorist groups. It is a message to them and their families: their freedom and their well-being remain key to us. Lastly, our vote is a vote for peace — a peace that will allow this man-made humanitarian catastrophe to be stopped — and a vote for an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire. Denmark has consistently condemned the terrorist attacks by Hamas and other terrorist groups on 7 October 2023. What happened was inexcusable, and we reiterate our firm condemnation of Hamas’ despicable acts. We have also consistently underlined that the fight against terrorism cannot come at the expense of the rules that safeguard humanity. In closing, even though the draft resolution was not adopted today at this 10000th meeting of the Council, 14 members of the Council have sent a clear message: we want to see an immediate and lasting ceasefire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and the urgent lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian aid. We will continue to work for this for however many Council meetings it may take.

I shall now make a statement in my capacity as the representative of the Republic of Korea. Almost two years have now passed since the horrendous terrorist attacks by Hamas against Israeli citizens that sparked Israel’s massive military operations in Gaza, killing far too many Palestinians, including scores of women and children. Yet we now confront another appalling development in Gaza: new deadly Israel Defense Forces ground operations forcing hundreds of thousands of exhausted and starved Palestinian civilians out of Gaza City. We strongly oppose these vast land and air attacks. It is deeply troubling that the endless humanitarian suffering of Palestinian civilians in Gaza persists, while 48 Israeli hostages are still brutally held by Hamas. With the ongoing restrictions on the entry and delivery of humanitarian aid in Gaza, along with a total breakdown of law and order, innocent civilians are being starved. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification report last month, indicating that famine was already happening in Gaza City, was another wake-up call for the Council. Against this backdrop, the Republic of Korea has participated as one of the elected members of the Council in a new endeavour to pursue an outcome of the Security Council demanding a ceasefire and the release of hostages as well as an urgent increase of life-saving assistance based on the proven United Nations humanitarian system. We believe that the draft resolution presented today contained important elements to forge meaningful improvement on the ground at this critical moment. Thus, it is deeply, deeply regrettable that the latest efforts by the elected 10 could not garner the support necessary for its adoption today. Despite this failure, we believe that today’s result shows once again the collective voice of the vast majority of the international community. Thus, an immediate ceasefire must be put in place. All hostages must be released. Most urgently, a genuine surge of dignified humanitarian aid at scale, based on long-standing humanitarian principles, must be ensured. All efforts to expand humanitarian aid should be supported. However, we clearly witnessed during the ceasefire earlier this year what was the most efficient way Civilians in Gaza as well as hostages and their families have suffered too much and far too long. The Republic of Korea urges the finalization of a deal to secure an immediate ceasefire and release of all hostages leading to a permanent end to this war. We do not believe that today’s unsuccessful effort is meaningless. Instead, we hope these efforts can help illuminate a path towards a durable peace and stability for all in the region. I now resume my functions as President of the Council. The representative of the United States of America has asked for the floor to make a further statement.

Because there have been several references to a report that was released earlier this week by the so-called “commission of inquiry”, the United States would like to clarify the record. To be clear, we consider this a slanderous report that lacks any credibility. This report presents lies and distortions to the benefit of Hamas. The commissioners who wrote this report have a record of bias that are in violation of the United Nations own rules of impartiality. This is a clear example of the Human Rights Council’s moral bankruptcy and why the United States ended its participation in that body. It is long overdue that the commission of inquiry be eliminated and that its antisemitic witch-hunt be put to an end.

I now give the floor to the Permanent Observer of the Observer State of Palestine.

I congratulate the Republic of Korea for its assumption of the Security Council presidency, assured of your wise leadership of these deliberations and the work of the Council. From the outset, I wish to express our thanks to Algeria, Denmark, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Somalia and Greece, the elected 10. We thank them for their leadership and relentless efforts for many long months now to push for a permanent and unconditional ceasefire that would end the massacres being perpetrated by Israel against the Palestinian people, that would release hostages and prisoners, that would end the occupation-imposed famine and unbearable human suffering, and that would stop the forcible displacement of our people and annexation of Palestinian land. We listened very closely to their passionate statements and have closely followed their outstanding efforts in order to try to bring this nightmare and this genocide against the Palestinian people to an end. The alternative to all of this, which is demanded by international law and by our collective humanity, is unfolding before our eyes. I can understand the anger, frustration and huge disappointment of the Palestinian people who might be watching this Security Council meeting, hoping that there is some help in the pipeline and this nightmare will be brought to an end. I can imagine their anger and their frustration that it did not happen, and these atrocities are continuing to be imposed on them. And if any Council members —and I am sure they do — see the images of the total destruction of the city of Gaza, with a flood of tens of thousands of humans navigating through that destruction, they will have no heart if they are not moved by the amount of pain and anguish that the Palestinian people are going through. This draft resolution (S/2025/583) represents the bare minimum that humanity, legality and morality dictate. It is deeply regrettable and painful that it has been blocked, preventing the Security Council from playing its rightful role in the face of these atrocities and protecting civilians in the face of genocide. It is regrettable that the members of the Security Council, the custodians of the maintenance of international peace and security, were unable to act in that direction. And the minimum is to adopt the draft resolution that was not adopted. I want to thank all those who supported this draft resolution, in addition to the 10 members, the four others who made it receive 14 votes — almost 15, 15 minus 1. Many Council members were willing to go much further than the language in the text, including by rightfully resorting to Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations. Millions of people in the streets are demanding that the Council use Chapter VII in order to impose its will through whatever tools are available to it to force Israel to stop this genocide against the Palestinian people. But the draft resolution was a genuine effort for the Council to speak with one voice. Unfortunately, the Council remains silent at great cost to its credibility and authority. This demonstrates that when it comes to atrocity crimes, the use of the veto should simply not be allowed. The United States has been, together with Egypt and Qatar, trying to reach a ceasefire agreement. We supported repeatedly the mediation efforts towards a ceasefire agreement and called repeatedly on Hamas to cooperate with them even when Israel was sparing no effort to prevent reaching such an agreement. What more proof is needed that Israel does not want a ceasefire agreement that would save Palestinian and Israeli lives than the Israeli strike on the territory of Qatar, a key mediator, to target those who the mediator was convening to reach such a ceasefire agreement and to end this nightmare? We condemn in the strongest terms that attack against the sisterly country of Qatar. Whether in Gaza or in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, or in the region, Israel has chosen time and time again the path of violence. In response to the global demands for a ceasefire and the global demands for an end to its illegal occupation, it chooses instead to escalate its violence, committing crime upon crime with no end in sight, with full impunity. And children, women and men, and entire families are paying with their lives for this appalling impunity and inhumanity. Just two days ago, the Human Rights Council’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, including East Jerusalem, and Israel joined the many concluding on the basis of the undeniable evidence that this is a genocide, reaffirming the obligation of all States without exception to act now to prevent and punish this crime which shames the world, which shames all of us. Violence is an impasse. A ceasefire would save lives, those of Palestinians and Israelis and hostages and prisoners. There is no justification for killing and harming civilians, whether they be Palestinians or Israelis. There must be no conditions, no delays and no excuses in calling for such violence to end. One should not see only partially the suffering of a group of people and completely ignore and fail to acknowledge the massive, the mountains of suffering of the Palestinian people. It is the right thing to do. It is the only thing to do. To those who are living in denial and drunk from their ecstasy and victories, I call on them to wake up. The only road is the road to peace. The only road is the road of the two-State solution, to live next to each other in peace and security. We are committed to that. The whole world is committed to that. There is only one party, led by a group of fanatic leaders, that is refusing to accept that, and those leaders are trying in a futile exercise to eradicate the existence of the Palestinian people and their national rights, including their right to self-determination, statehood and the right of refugees. Israel must be stopped for the sake of our people, for the sake of the Israeli people, for the sake of our region and for the sake of our international community and the international system created to save humankind. A ceasefire must take place. Hostages and prisoners must be released. Aid must flood Gaza, and the United Nations and humanitarians must be allowed to do their work, to save lives. Two million people must be saved from this hell. The veto prevented the Council from taking action at a time when it is most needed for the maintenance of international peace and security. But this is not the end, and it will not be the end, as many Council members said. All States must shoulder their responsibility and take decisive measures that will deter Israel, the occupying Power, from pursuing its criminal schemes against our people. They have the tools. All Council members have the tools in their national capacity and collectively, and these tools must be used, including through an international protection force and immediate, tangible accountability measures. We recognize and thank all of those who have been taking bold decisions to end the horrors and to end this illegal occupation. The General Assembly demanded, a year ago, an end of the Israeli occupation by September 2025, following the International Court of Justice advisory opinion (see A/78/968), in which the Court deemed this occupation illegal, in order to ensure the rights and freedom of the Palestinian people and the independence of the State of Palestine, and to advance real justice and lasting peace. We urge the implementation of those decisions. We appeal to everyone to uphold their obligations with actions to ensure accountability, to end Israel’s impunity, to protect the Palestinian people, to salvage the two-State solution and to salvage the prospects for a just peace that Israel is trying to destroy every single day. There is a future with no violence, no hatred, no killing, in which the forces of peace finally prevail. We, the forces of peace, are becoming stronger, not only the 14 Council members in this Chamber but almost the entire membership of the General Assembly. The forces of peace are growing with the hundreds of millions who are demonstrating in the streets, asking for peace and asking for a ceasefire. But accessing that future starts by stopping this madness. In the coming days, leaders gathering here in New York, on this eightieth anniversary of the United Nations, must take, individually and collectively, the decisions that will save Gaza, save Palestine, save peace, save the Middle East and save our international law-based order. Palestine will be present, whether physically or through other measures. Action can no longer be delayed. There is far too much at stake. Gaza is the ultimate test. Two million Palestinian people for two years now have paid the price of our failure to stop the killing machine launched against them. We cannot fail them any longer. We have to act. We have to act now. We are confident that the army of those who will be joining the march for action will grow bigger and bigger. Palestine will not be the exception to the rule. As humankind succeeded in putting an end to apartheid, humankind will succeed in putting an end to this illegal occupation, and Palestine will be free and the two-State solution will be a reality.

I now give the floor to the representative of Israel.

Some in the Council treat these sessions as theatre, as a show. For Israel, it is not theatre. It is our daily reality. Just hours ago, two Israelis were murdered at the Allenby Bridge crossing on the Israel-Jordan border, when a truck marked for humanitarian aid was turned into a weapon of terror. This is the reality we face. Words spoken here as performance can have deadly consequences on the ground. First, we would like to thank the United States for showing leadership and moral conviction by vetoing this biased draft resolution (S/2025/583). How did this draft resolution come before us? It began as Algeria’s one-sided text. The United States engaged in good faith, seeking to add balance in order to acknowledge truth, moral clarity, peace and security. Algeria refused. For weeks, Algeria has run the show, not to seek compromise but to stall, dragging talks out until the stage lights of the high-level week were upon us, showing great timing; not to strengthen consensus but to strip away balance. Step by step, line by line, it worked to weaken the truth. Council members must ask themselves, why did they yield to Algeria’s radical demands yet refuse to preserve the simple facts? Let me remind them what Algeria would not allow them to include in this draft resolution: first, that all acts of terrorism are criminal and unjust; that Hamas is a terrorist organization; that Hamas’ terrorist attack on 7 October 2023 must be condemned; and that Hamas must disarm and leave the Gaza Strip. Why were these lines deleted? The answer is simple. Algeria cares more for the show than the truth, more about the credit than making real progress. Too many here are prepared to follow its lead. What we see here is not diplomacy, it is theatre. For Algeria, the substance never mattered, only the performance, the timing, the process, the applause; not the people of Gaza, not their suffering. If Council members truly cared for the people of Gaza, they would condemn Hamas. They would include it in the draft resolution. Instead, they protect Hamas, reading from their script and casting them in the leading role on the stage they have built in the Council. I know many Council members are serious diplomats. Yet by endorsing a draft resolution that dares to imply that Israel is starving the people of Gaza, they echo the propaganda of Hamas. Council members must ask themselves: is that truly a choice they are prepared to defend? Is that the part they wish to play, reciting their script rather than speaking the truth? In the Chamber, Algeria has acted as Hamas’ puppet. While Algeria plays theatre, our hostages remain underground, starved, tortured, humiliated. While this draft resolution was stripped of truth and courage, Hamas stole aid and prepared new attacks. While Ambassador Amar Bendjama chases applause, Israelis and Palestinians pay the price. The result is the draft resolution before us, which fails to label Hamas as a terrorist organization, fails to condemn 7 October 2023 massacre, fails to demand that Hamas disarm and end its rule in Gaza. This is not the product of diplomacy; it is the product of obstruction. It is not the work of mediators; it is the work of a ringleader for radicals and terrorists. Too often, in the past two years, the world’s moral compass has spun off course. Instead of unified outrage at innocent people dragged into tunnels, we hear hesitation and excuses — or worse, silence. Israel has even been asked to justify what needs no justification: bringing our hostages home and confronting Hamas to prove that there is no immunity for terrorists. Israel did not want this war. Israel did not ask for it. When Hamas invaded Israel, attacked our towns, killed our people and took hostages underground, war was forced on us. The Council has a choice: it can continue with the absence of moral clarity, or it can act with purpose. It can steer the Organization back to its true north, towards truth, justice and peace. Political manoeuvring and empty gestures lead only to irrelevance. Hypocrisy and one-sidedness will never deliver peace. This is a crucial moment. This year, we mark 80 years since the United Nations was created — an institution born after evil was defeated in a long and costly war. The triumph of light over darkness made its creation possible. But before the axis of evil was overcome, some chose to face tyranny with appeasement, while others stood firmly. While Prime Minister Chamberlain told his people to go home and sleep quietly as tyranny marched forward, Churchill’s path was different — the path of courage and moral clarity. Churchill confronted tyranny and overcame it, and so will we. For as Churchill warned, tyranny is our foe, in whatever trappings or disguise it wears and whatever language it speaks, from within or without. We must be vigilant, resolute and united. Israel will not be told to go home and sleep while terror stands at our door. We will not rest until every hostage is home and until Hamas is defeated.

The representative of Algeria has asked for the floor to make a further statement.

I hesitated considerably before asking for the floor, but my country was mentioned five times, and I had to respond. Everyone saw and heard the representative of Israel deliberately target my country and my country alone regarding this draft resolution (S/2025/583), which was nevertheless sponsored by the 10 elected members of the Security Council, with 14 As President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has repeatedly stated, Algeria will stand alongside the Palestinian people until they can enjoy their right to self-determination and until they can enjoy their inalienable right to establish an independent State with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. Everything else is just an attempt to muddy the waters and to escape the unanimous condemnation of the international community.

The representative of Denmark has asked for the floor to make a further statement.

I take the floor to respond to the comments made by the representative of Israel. This draft resolution (S/2025/583) was drafted by the 10 elected members of the Security Council (E10), coordinated by Denmark as the E10 coordinator. With all due respect, we do not recognize the process that was described here. One specific elected member was mentioned, but all 10 of us stand behind this text, which received 14 votes in favour and one veto.

The representative of Israel has asked for the floor to make a further statement. I now give him the floor.

My colleague from Algeria mentioned that I mentioned Algeria five times. He is probably right. But when I listened to his speech, he did not mention the hostages even once — the 48 hostages who are in captivity. He is not willing to condemn Hamas. From what I know, it was perhaps the involvement of Algeria that was able to convince the rest of the members that Hamas should not be condemned in this draft resolution (S/2025/583). That is a legitimate process, but I think it is wrong. I think it is shameful that members can blame Israel for everything they believe to be true, but they cannot include a simple condemnation of Hamas in a draft resolution. I think it is shameful, and I think it speaks for itself that the draft resolution is not condemning Hamas. There will be a future for Gaza only when Hamas is out of the equation. If the General Assembly was able to adopt such language, I think the Security Council should do the same.

The representative of Algeria has asked for the floor to make a further statement.

I will be brief. Algeria was one of the submitters of the draft resolution that was before us (S/2025/583) and that, in a very clear manner, called for the unconditional release of the hostages. I would like to remind the Council that my country voted in favour of that draft resolution. But I would also like to remind the representative of Israel that two days ago  — or rather last Friday  — his country voted against a draft decision in the General Assembly that contained a very explicit condemnation of the hostage-taking by Hamas. I repeat: the world, the entirety of humankind, is against the massacres carried out by Israel in the Gaza Strip. I will not allow myself to be dragged into a debate aimed at diverting humankind’s gaze from the genocide — I repeat, the genocide — that is currently being carried out in Gaza.