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US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Greenfield-Thomas addresses a meeting of the Security Council as they consider a US-sponsored resolution calling for a cease-fire in Gaza, on March 22, 2024.
China and Russia veto US cease-fire resolution for Gaza
Yet another Gaza cease-fire resolution failed in the UN Security Council today – though the US was not responsible for blocking it this time. China and Russia vetoed a US-sponsored resolution urging for “an immediate and sustained cease-fire” in the Israel-Hamas war in connection with a hostage deal.
Beijing and Moscow’s ambassadors seemingly took issue with the language of the resolution, contending it didn’t go far enough to demand a cease-fire. The US resolution “sets up conditions for a ceasefire, which is no different from giving a green light to continued killings, which is unacceptable,” said Zhang Jun, China’s ambassador to the UN.
Russia's ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said Moscow supported a cease-fire but decried the US resolution as a “hypocritical spectacle.” Nebenzia said it was “exceedingly politicized … to help to play to the voters, to throw them a bone in the form of some kind of a mention of a cease-fire in Gaza.”
The US, Israel’s top ally, previously vetoed three cease-fire resolutions. The latest resolution signaled a shift in Washington’s stance on the war, as the Biden administration faces domestic pressure over its support for Israel and butts heads with Benjamin Netanyahu’s government over plans to invade Rafah – a city filled with displaced Palestinians.
Playing politics? The US accused Russia and China, two of its top adversaries, of tanking the resolution for political reasons. "Russia and China simply did not want to vote for a resolution that was penned by the United States,” said US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
What’s next? Elected members of the UNSC have penned an alternative resolution that demands an immediate cease-fire, which could be brought to a vote on Friday afternoon. The US has signaled it will block the measure.
Meanwhile, Secretary of State Antony Blinken traveled to Israel on Friday as part of ongoing efforts to secure a new truce. Netanyahu remained defiant during the visit, telling Blinken that Israel can't defeat Hamas without going into Rafah and that it will move forward with the operation without US support if necessary.
President Joe Biden walks on the South Lawn to Marine One to start his trip from the White House to New York City.
Biden says cease-fire deal is just around the corner
Israel has also signaled it could release a group of high-profile Palestinian prisoners as a part of the deal. Israel has resisted such a concession in the past because releasing Palestinians convicted of terrorism could attract significant domestic criticism. But it could go a long way toward temporarily pausing the fighting.
However, the most important parts of the deal for Hamas – including the length of a cease-fire and Hamas’s demand for a complete withdrawal of Israeli military forces from Gaza — are still under discussion. Hamas officials have indicated the two sides are not as close to a deal as Biden suggests.
Palestinians leave Rafah in fear of an Israeli military operation in the southern Gaza Strip, on Feb. 13, 2024.
Israeli strikes in Lebanon revive concerns about widening war
Israel launched airstrikes in Lebanon on Wednesday, killing at least 10 civilians, in response to a suspected Hezbollah rocket attack that killed an Israeli soldier. Hezbollah on Thursday said Israel would "pay the price for these crimes."
The US raised alarm about the potential for escalation and pushed for a diplomatic resolution to the tensions.
Israel and Hezbollah — a powerful Iran-backed militia group that collaborates with Hamas — have traded fire for months as the war in Gaza fuels wider tensions, raising concerns that Israel could end up in a two-front war.
Israel's recent airstrikes “reflect domestic political and social pressures to respond more forcefully to Hezbollah,” says Sofia Meranto, a Middle East analyst at Eurasia Group.
And there’s likely to be more where that came from. Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah warned Tuesday that attacks on Israel end only “when the shooting stops in Gaza.” However, he has previously signaled reluctance to face a full-scale war with Israel, which could inflict huge pain on Lebanon more broadly.
Meanwhile, as Israel prepares to invade the southern Gaza town of Rafah, where 1.4 million displaced Palestinians are sheltering, the US, Egypt, and Qatar are scrambling to establish a new truce. So far, both Hamas and Israel have rejected the terms.Graphic Truth: What would Ukrainians give up for peace?
Ukraine is days away from marking the second anniversary of Russia’s 2022 invasion. The war is largely stalemated, with few changes to the battlefield map in recent months. Ukrainian troops are engaged in brutal trench warfare reminiscent of World War I but with the added nightmare of deadlier modern weaponry and technology. After enjoying strong, steady support from its Western allies in the first year and a half of the war, Kyiv now faces a constant struggle to keep aid flowing in as it runs short on supplies and faces manpower issues. Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin shows no signs of backing down despite the myriad political, economic, and societal consequences the war has had for Russia.
But none of that is undermining Ukraine’s resolve. New polling from the Munich Security Conference shows that Ukrainians are strongly opposed to any cease-fire framework that would require Kyiv to cede territory to Russia — particularly Crimea, which Moscow annexed in 2014. This suggests that Ukrainians are largely aligned with their government, which has pushed for a peace plan that would see Russia withdraw troops from occupied territories and recognize Ukraine’s 1991 post-Soviet borders. Moscow has scoffed at this proposal.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken is welcomed upon arriving at King Khalid International Airport, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Monday, Feb. 5, 2024.
Blinken swims against current to push for Gaza truce
But Blinken is fighting an uphill battle, given Hamas seeks a permanent cease-fire and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been clear that he’s not giving up on his goal of destroying the militant group.
Bombing for peace? Blinken’s visit comes as the US ramps up strikes on Iran-backed militias in the region as part of a broader effort to deter further attacks on US forces. The tit-for-tat is being fueled by the war in Gaza, and it’s unlikely to end as long as fighting continues between Israel and Hamas.
What’s on the agenda? Blinken, who arrived in Riyadh on Monday, is set to visit Egypt, Israel, Qatar, and the occupied West Bank. His trip will also focus on post-war governance in Gaza and Washington’s hopes for a normalization deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia.
Protesters hold signs demanding the liberation of hostages being held in the Gaza Strip after they were seized by Hamas gunmen on Oct. 7, in Tel Aviv, on Nov. 21, 2023, just hours before the announcement of a four-day cease-fire.
Israel and Hamas: A cease-fire, if you can keep it
Well, we were told to ignore all rumors about a hostage release deal until something was announced officially, so we did.
But now it’s for real: Late Wednesday, Israel’s cabinet approved a limited cease-fire with Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip in exchange for the release of some of the roughly 240 hostages that Hamas abducted during its Oct. 7 rampage through southern Israel. The deal was brokered with help from the US and Qatar.
The terms: Israel will suspend its assault on Gaza for a period of four days, during which time Hamas will release 50 of the hostages, and Israel will release 150 of the nearly 8,000 Palestinians currently jailed in Israel.
Israel will not withdraw any of its forces from Gaza during that time.
Around 300 humanitarian aid trucks will be allowed into the Gaza Strip for each day of the cease-fire.
Israel may prolong the cease-fire by one day for every additional 10 hostages released by Hamas.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pledged to continue Israel’s military action in Gaza after the cease-fire is over.
The pressure: The Israeli government has sworn to destroy Hamas in retaliation for the Oct. 7 attacks, but it has also come under intense pressure at home to secure the release of the hostages.
International demands for a cease-fire, meanwhile, have grown as well. The death toll from Israel’s assault on Gaza has now surpassed 12,000 people, according to local health authorities, while more than two-thirds of Gaza’s 2.2 million population have been displaced. Israeli blockades of humanitarian aid and fuel have exacerbated a gruesome humanitarian crisis in the densely packed enclave.
The catch: It’s not clear when the cease-fire will go into effect. Thursday would be the earliest, as Israel must leave time for any local court challenges to the release of specific Palestinian prisoners, whose names will be made public on Wednesday.
The concern: Agreeing to a cease-fire and hostage release is a major breakthrough, but it’s only a beginning. There is little trust between Hamas and Israel, and both sides will need to maintain strict control over their forces to observe the cease-fire. Even the slightest of perceived provocations could spiral into fresh violence that wrecks the deal entirely.People hold a placard in a demonstration demanding an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, in Paris, France, on Nov. 11, 2023.
The debate over a “cease-fire” for Gaza
There have been growing calls across the globe for a cease-fire in Gaza. Meanwhile, some world leaders have called for humanitarian pauses.
Here’s a breakdown of what these terms mean:
What’s a cease-fire? This is when warring parties agree to set down their weapons and stop fighting for an extended period of time. It typically involves negotiations and could pave the way for a permanent political settlement.
What’s a humanitarian pause? This is briefer and less comprehensive than a cease-fire. It effectively means hitting the pause button on a conflict for a short period – for days or even just hours – to allow people to escape a conflict zone and/or to let aid flow into the area.
Who is calling for what? The US government, Israel’s greatest ally, has advocated for humanitarian pauses. Most US allies have issued similar calls to President Joe Biden, though French President Emmanuel Macron recently broke ranks and called for a cease-fire. UN chief António Guterres has also called for a cease-fire.
They and other proponents of a cease-fire point to the rising Palestinian death toll and escalating humanitarian crisis as Israel continues air strikes and expands its ground operations in Gaza. Opponents argue that ceasing fire would allow Hamas to regroup and pose a continued threat to Israel.
Israel’s view: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has firmly rejected calls for a cease-fire but did recently agree to four-hour daily pauses of fighting. There are also reportedly negotiations underway for Hamas to release dozens of hostages in exchange for a multiday pause in the fighting and the release of Palestinian prisoners.
One expert’s view: Israel’s goal of destroying Hamas remains one of the biggest obstacles to a cease-fire, says Mohammed Abu-Nimer, a professor of international conflict resolution at American University in Washington, DC, noting that it’s “unattainable” because it’s impossible to eradicate an ideology.
“It's basically a situation where one government, one side is saying, ‘We are going to eliminate you, and therefore we're not going to stop bombarding you’,” says Abu-Nimer.
“But Israel and Hamas have had many cease-fires in the past,” he adds. “And they have exchanged hostages and prisoners. They've done that before. Everyone knows that it's possible to have it, and it's possible to reach an agreement."
Previous cease-fires between Israel and Hamas, however, have ended inconclusively, leaving the door open to future conflict.
A humanitarian pause is “needed” in Gaza to avoid “massive loss of life” due to both the constant bombing and “conditions on the ground,” Abu-Nimer says.
But a cease-fire would go further and allow for necessary dialogue on “what arrangements Israel needs in Gaza for it to secure its border" and what Palestinians need in terms of their own safety and freedoms, he adds.