The United Nations Security Council called for “urgent and extended humanitarian pauses to the Gaza war” as it passed its first resolution on that conflict in a 12-0 vote on Wednesday afternoon.
Three countries abstained: the United States, Great Britain, and Russia.
The US said it supported the resolution but did not vote for it because the text failed to condemn Hamas.
“I am horrified that a few members of this council can still not bring themselves to condemn the barbaric terror attack that Hamas carried out against Israel on October 7,” US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said.
Her comment referenced Hamas’s infiltration of Southern Israel last month, during which time it killed over 1,200 people and seized over 239 captives.
“I am horrified that a few members of this council can still not bring themselves to condemn the barbaric terror attack that Hamas carried out against Israel on October 7.”
Linda Thomas-Greenfield
UNSC has never condemned Hamas
In pondering why the UNSC has never condemned Hamas, she asked, “What are they afraid of?”
“What is stopping them from unequivocally condemning the actions of a terrorist organization that is determined to kill Jews and that gunned down civilians and burned families alive and executed children?” she asked.
It’s a “group that killed and took hostages including children from over a dozen countries, including the US,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
“Let's be crystal clear: Hamas set this conflict in motion because Hamas only cares about the death and destruction of the Israeli people. They do not care one whit about the safety and the protection of the Palestinian people," the ambassador said.
“If they did, they would not use civilian infrastructure, residential buildings, schools, mosques, and hospitals to store weapons and operate command and control nodes,” Thomas-Greenfield said.
“Ultimately the US could not vote 'yes' on a text that did not condemn Hamas or reaffirm the right of all member states to protect their citizens from terror attacks,” she said, adding that the US will continue to urge the council to condemn Hamas.
She pointed to the portion of the resolution that called on the terrorist group to release the hostages. “This is the first time we have ever adopted a resolution that mentions the word Hamas," she said. "In addition, we fully support the resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages."