Israel/Gaza War: China Condemns U.S. Veto of Call for Immediate Ceasefire at UN

China has sharply condemned the US for vetoing a United Nations (UN) Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

Beijing said the move sent the “wrong message” and effectively gave a “green light to the continued slaughter”.

The White House said the Algerian-proposed resolution would “jeopardise” talks to end the war.

The US has proposed its own temporary ceasefire resolution, which also warned Israel not to invade the city of Rafah.

Algeria’s resolution was backed by 13 of the 15 members of the UN Security Council – with the UK abstaining.

Under the council’s rules, any resolution that is vetoed by one of its five permanent members – which includes the US – is immediately thrown out.

Israel launched its operations in Gaza following an attack by Hamas on southern Israel on 7 October, during which about 1,200 people were killed and more than 240 others taken hostage.

The Israeli military campaign has left more than 29,000 people dead in Gaza, according to the Palestinian territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.

More than a million displaced Palestinians – about half of the Strip’s population – are crammed into Rafah after being forced to seek shelter there. The southern city, which borders Egypt, was home to only 250,000 people before the war.

Many of the displaced are living in makeshift shelters or tents in squalid conditions, with scarce access to safe drinking water or food.