U.S. Vetoes U.N. Cease-Fire Resolution for Israel-Hamas War

Welcome back to World Brief, where we’re looking at a failed United Nations cease-fire proposal for Gaza, Hungary moving ahead on Sweden’s NATO accession, and doctors going on strike in South Korea.

Another U.S. Veto

The United States vetoed an Algerian-led draft resolution at the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that called for an immediate humanitarian truce between Israel and Hamas and supported the provisional orders that the International Court of Justice issued against Israel last month. Thirteen council members voted in favor, and the United Kingdom abstained.

“A vote in favor of this draft resolution is support to the Palestinians’ right to life. Conversely, voting against it implies an endorsement of the brutal violence and collective punishment inflicted upon them,” said Algerian ambassador to the United Nations Amar Bendjama.

This was the third time that Washington rejected a cease-fire resolution at the U.N. since Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The United States argued that Algeria’s draft jeopardized ongoing talks among U.S., Egyptian, Israeli, and Qatari officials to cement a deal that would release all hostages and implement a six-week truce. “Proceeding with a vote today was wishful and irresponsible,” said U.S. ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield.

Washington proposed an alternative draft resolution on Monday calling for a temporary cease-fire “as soon as practicable.” It was the first time that the United States explicitly suggested an immediate truce, making it the “strongest signal” yet that “Israel cannot rely on American diplomatic protection indefinitely,” said Richard Gowan, the U.N. director at the International Crisis Group.

The U.S. text calls for Hamas to release all remaining hostages and for Israel to lift all barriers preventing humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. It also opposes Israeli plans to launch a ground offensive into the southern Gaza city of Rafah, where more than half of the enclave’s 2.3 million residents are currently sheltering. “Under current circumstances a major ground offensive into Rafah would result in further harm to civilians and their further displacement including potentially into neighboring countries,” the U.S. draft says. The U.N. warned last Tuesday that such an operation could “lead to a slaughter.”

It is unclear whether or when the U.S. draft resolution will be put to a vote. The United States does “not plan to rush” to a vote and intends to allow time for negotiations, a senior U.S. administration official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters on Monday.

Israeli war cabinet Minister Benny Gantz said on Sunday that Israel would launch its Rafah offensive if Hamas does not release all remaining captives by the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, which is expected to begin on March 10. This was the first time that Israel provided a possible deadline for the anticipated operation. All European Union countries except Hungary warned Israel on Monday not to launch such an attack on Rafah, instead demanding an immediate humanitarian pause.

Gantz said Israel would coordinate with the United States and Egypt to limit civilian casualties in Rafah. But Cairo has previously warned that such an offensive could push Palestinian refugees into its territory and thereby threaten its 1979 peace treaty with Israel. Reports indicate that Egypt is building a walled enclosure in the Sinai Peninsula as a contingency plan to hold displaced Palestinians.

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What We’re Following

Sweden’s final NATO hurdle. Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party requested on Tuesday that the country’s parliament vote on Sweden’s NATO accession bid next Monday when the new session begins. Fidesz, led by far-right Prime Minister Viktor Orban, has continued to delay approving Sweden’s accession despite all other NATO members—including Turkey, the initial holdout—having now approved Stockholm’s application. Membership in NATO requires unanimous approval.

Budapest is expected to ratify Sweden’s application after more than 18 months of delays. It previously blocked Stockholm’s attempts over allegations that Sweden criticized Hungary’s rule-of-law standards. Orban initially hinted that he would grant Sweden admission once Turkey did, but after Ankara ratified Sweden’s bid in January, he continued to drag his feet.

Hungary has made a name for itself as an outlier in Western politics. For weeks, Orban held up an EU aid package for Ukraine to pressure the bloc into releasing billions of euros earmarked for Budapest—only conceding in early February after a series of failed negotiations. The Hungarian leader is a close, vocal ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Hungary is the only EU country not to condemn Israel’s planned Rafah offensive.

Doctors on strike. More than a thousand physicians in South Korea went on strike on Tuesday to protest a government plan to address industry staffing shortages. Seoul’s plan aims to raise the number of medical students accepted each year by 2,000 slots; however, employees in the health care industry argue that increasing admissions does not solve the roots of the problem: staffing shortages in low-paid specialties such as emergency medicine, harsh working conditions, and poor wages for interns and residents.

More than 6,400 doctors-in-training presented their resignations on Tuesday alongside ongoing protests. South Korea’s privatized health care system has some of the best-paid doctors in the world, but it also has one of the lowest doctor-to-patient ratios globally. With South Korea predicted to have the world’s oldest population by 2044, officials are scrambling to minimize the staffing gap.

Surprise announcement. Guinea’s ruling military junta dissolved the government late Monday without providing an explanation. In a presidential decree read on state TV, it ordered all ministers to surrender their passports and state vehicles, warning that it would also freeze their bank accounts. The junta added that Guinea’s borders would remain sealed until it took control of all government ministries.

A presidential spokesperson said daily operations would continue as usual and that the junta plans to appoint a new government, though he did not specify when. In September 2021, Col. Mamady Doumbouya led a military coup to overthrow President Alpha Condé after protests erupted over his controversial bid for a third term. Guinea is expected to hold national elections by early 2025, just in time for the junta’s two-year transition period to expire.

Odds and Ends

On the eve of Valentine’s Day, a woman in Lima, Peru, got what she thought was a romantic surprise when a person in a giant teddy bear costume approached her apartment bearing flowers and chocolate. But what appeared at first glance to be a Cupid-ordered mission quickly revealed its true nature as a covert police operation to crack down on drugs in the Latin American nation. Cocaine Bear’s alter ego arrested the woman and discovered more than 1,500 portions of cocaine paste in her and another woman’s possession, according to police. And it’s not the first time that Peruvian authorities have used such a tactic. Last Christmas, an officer dressed up as Santa Claus to apprehend suspects.