For over 20 months, the United States has repeatedly wielded its UN Security Council veto to obstruct efforts to halt Israel’s devastating military assault on Gaza, leaving Palestinians trapped in what rights groups describe as an unfolding genocide. Five times since October 2023, Washington has blocked resolutions demanding an immediate ceasefire, even as the death toll soars and famine tightens its grip on the besieged enclave.  

The first veto came on 18 October 2023, striking down a call for a humanitarian pause to allow aid into Gaza. By December, a second resolution met the same fate. In February 2024, the US rejected Algeria’s proposal for an urgent ceasefire, dismissing widespread appeals to end the bloodshed. A fourth veto in November 2024 dismissed calls for an unconditional halt to hostilities. The latest, on 4 June 2025, saw Washington again isolate itself, opposing a resolution backed by up to 14 Security Council members addressing Gaza’s catastrophic humanitarian collapse.  

With each veto, the US has enabled Israel’s relentless offensive, which has flattened entire neighbourhoods, killed tens of thousands mostly women and children, and displaced nearly two million Palestinians. Hospitals, schools, and refugee camps have been systematically targeted, while aid convoys face deliberate obstruction, deepening starvation.  

Palestinian officials and international rights organisations accuse the US of complicity in war crimes, arguing that its unwavering diplomatic shield has emboldened Israel’s impunity. As Gaza’s agony intensifies, Washington’s vetoes stand as a grim testament to the political machinery perpetuating one of this century’s gravest atrocities.