March 22, 2024 Israel-Hamas war

Even though a United Nations Security Council resolution put forth by the United States calling for a ceasefire in Gaza was vetoed on Friday, analysts said it was a major departure from US policy on Israel during the war.  

The draft resolution called for “an immediate and sustained ceasefire… in connection with the release of all remaining hostages,” and comes after Washington vetoed three prior UN resolutions calling for a ceasefire.  

The resolution included phrasing that the US was unwilling to use before, according to Frank Lowenstein — who worked as special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations under US President Barack Obama during the 2014 Israel-Gaza war — referring to “immediate ceasefire,” which the former diplomat said could help bring the US back from months of international “isolation.”

The US, Israel’s most prominent defender on the world stage, has faced severe criticism in Arab countries and in Europe for its refusal to call for a ceasefire early in the Gaza war as well as its reluctance to translate its verbal criticism of Israel’s conduct to diplomatic action. 

“I think there has been a gap from day one, a gap between the language and the actions,” said Yossi Mekelberg, an associate fellow with the Middle East and North Africa program at the Chatham House think tank in London. “But I think gradually, the language and the action are coming closer, closing the gap, millimeter by millimeter.” 

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield criticized vetoes from Russia and China on the US-proposed draft resolution calling for a ceasefire tied to the release of hostages in Gaza.

Thomas-Greenfield told the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Friday that Russia and China have not condemned Hamas for its attacks on October 7. She said nearly every council member voted to secure an immediate and sustained ceasefire as part of a deal that would lead to the release of hostages.

UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward also said the United Kingdom is deeply disappointed that Russia and China were unable to support the council. 

She said the UK will continue to do everything it can to get aid into Gaza "as quickly as possible by land, sea, and air, but an immediate stop in the fighting is the only way to get aid into Gaza that is so desperately needed and make progress towards a permanent, sustainable ceasefire."

The United Nations Security Council voted to not adopt a draft resolution brought to the UN by the United States Friday calling for a ceasefire tied to the release of hostages.

There were 11 votes in favor, three against and one abstention from Guyana. Russia and China vetoed the resolution, along with Algeria.

Previously, the US had vetoed similar ceasefire resolutions three times.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s meeting with the Israeli war cabinet in Tel Aviv ended at 2:28 p.m. local time (or 8:28 a.m. ET) Friday, according to the State Department.

The meeting lasted about two and a half hours.

Blinken convened with Israeli officials, including Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in a diplomatic push to reached an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and deter an Israeli invasion of Rafah, in the south.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told the United Nations Security Council on Friday there needs to be an "immediate" ceasefire in Gaza as part of a deal to free the remaining hostages being held in the strip.

"We want to see an immediate and sustained ceasefire as part of a deal that leads to the release of hostages," she said.

She also called for more lifesaving aid to get into Gaza. 

Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said the US decision to propose a resolution now is "sluggish," as the US has previously vetoed ceasefire proposals. 

In late February, Thomas-Greenfield told the Security Council an Algeria-proposed resolution that the US vetoed would negatively impact negotiations ongoing in the region.

The Israeli military on Friday admitted to erroneously printing photos of "some of the saboteurs" it had detained, after forces laid siege to Gaza's largest hospital early Monday.

It came after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) published photos of some of the 358 men in what IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari claimed on Thursday was "the largest aggregation of terrorists we have apprehended since the beginning of the war."

However, the IDF attempted to walk back on its claims, blaming "human error." Avichay Adraee, an IDF spokesperson, said in a post on X that “some of the pictures published” are of people who have not yet been detained. The spokesperson claimed the wrongly identified individuals “are in the hospital area and are hiding there."

A later IDF statement in English also claimed “these terrorists are currently barricaded inside the hospital." CNN cannot independently verify the IDF claim. CNN has reached out to Hamas and the Gaza Media Office for comment.

What's been happening at the hospital: Israeli forces detained Palestinian journalists and health workers, blindfolded them and stripped them down to their underwear in Al-Shifa Hospital, according to eyewitness accounts shared with CNN earlier this week.

Palestinian reporters and hospital staff described scenes of humiliating interrogations where colleagues had been undressed and left outside in the cold. At least 3,000 displaced people, patients and staff were trying to seek shelter inside the facility before the deadly raid, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza.

Finland will restart donations to the UN's agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA), according to the Finnish public broadcaster Yle, after the suspension of funding by several Western countries raised concerns about the fate of the 5.9 million refugees it serves.

The announcement to resume funding was made by Finland’s Foreign Trade and Development Minister Ville Tavio at a news conference on Friday, Yle reported. Tavio said the UN agency is improving and strengthening its internal operations.

Israeli allegations: It came after Israel leveled explosive allegations against the agency, claiming that several staffers participated in the October 7 attacks. The UN fired several employees in the wake of the allegations and launched an investigation.

UNRWA allegations: Earlier this month, UNRWA accused Israel of detaining and torturing some of its staffers, coercing them into making false confessions about the agency’s ties to Hamas.

CNN cannot independently verify the allegations by Israel or UNRWA.

Independent review: An independent review group found the UN agency “has in place a significant number of mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with the Humanitarian Principle of neutrality.” The review group’s final report will be published on April 20 and will be made public.

Blow to humanitarian efforts: A number of Western countries largely suspended funding to the main UN agency in Gaza — including the US — amid a spiraling humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian enclave.

Israel's military offensive in Gaza has crushed the medical system, triggered mass displacement, and condemned the entire population of more than 2.2 million Palestinians to the risk of famine, according to a UN-backed report.

CNN's Hira Humayun and Jeremy Diamond contributed reporting.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at 11:20 a.m. local time (5:20 a.m. ET) in Tel Aviv on Friday morning, as part of an intensive diplomatic push to reach a “sustained and immediate ceasefire” in Gaza and deter an Israeli offensive into Rafah.

Secretary Blinken's meeting with the Israeli war cabinet started soon after, the State Department told reporters.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel at 9:54 a.m. local time on Friday.

Blinken is expected to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli war cabinet as a part of a diplomatic push for a ceasefire in Gaza, and to deter an Israeli offensive into Rafah.

The stop in Tel Aviv will cap Blinken’s sixth round of shuttle diplomacy in the region since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

His trip coincides with the resumption of talks in Doha aimed at securing a deal for a ceasefire tied to the release of the hostages held by Hamas.

A vote at the UN on a US-sponsored Security Council resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” in the Gaza conflict is also expected to take place Friday.