The Security Council meets before voting on a resolution concerning a ceasefire in Gaza at United Nations headquarters, Feb 20, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

UNITED NATIONS/CAIRO - The United States on Tuesday vetoed a Security Council draft resolution that would have demanded an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza.

The draft resolution won 13 votes in favor among the 15 members of the Security Council. The United States voted against it. Britain abstained.

To be adopted, a Security Council draft resolution needs at least nine votes in favor and no veto from any of the council's five permanent members -- Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States.

The Algerian-drafted resolution would have demanded an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza and would have deplored all attacks against civilians. The draft would have rejected forced displacement of the Palestinian civilian population and would have demanded unhindered humanitarian access to Gaza. The draft also would have demanded the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages.

Before the vote on the draft resolution, US ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said the Algerian draft would jeopardize ongoing efforts toward a hostage deal. She said her delegation was working on a rival draft resolution that would call for a "temporary cease-fire" based on the formula that all hostages are released.

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Palestinians search for survivors after an Israeli airstrike on a residential building in Al Zawayda, central Gaza Strip, Feb 18, 2024. (PHOTO / AP)

In an explanation of vote after the voting, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, expressed his country's strong disappointment at and dissatisfaction with the outcome of the vote

Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, Vassily Nebenzia, said before the vote that Washington continues to give Israel "a license to kill." He asked Security Council members "to counter the lawlessness of Washington."

Speaking after the vote, Nebenzia said full responsibility for the consequences of Tuesday's outcome falls on Washington, no matter how hard the United States tries to evade it by talking about its "important mediation efforts."

In an explanation of vote after the voting, China's permanent representative to the United Nations, Zhang Jun, expressed his country's strong disappointment at and dissatisfaction with the outcome of the vote.

"The US veto sent a wrong message, pushing the situation in Gaza into a more dangerous one," he said.

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The US claim that the Algerian-drafted resolution would interfere in ongoing diplomatic efforts is totally untenable, said Zhang.

The Security Council must take action to push for a cease-fire, which is its legal responsibility. The US veto cannot muffle the strong call for a cease-fire and an end to the war in Gaza. The Security Council cannot stop its work to uphold justice and fulfill its responsibilities just because of the veto, he said.

French UN ambassador Nicholas de Riviere regretted that the draft resolution was not adopted given the disastrous situation on the ground.

"There is an extreme urgency to conclude, without further delay, an agreement on a cease-fire, which finally guarantees the protection of all civilians and the massive delivery of emergency aid," he said. "The human toll and humanitarian situation in Gaza are intolerable and Israeli operations must stop."

The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the outcome "has come to question the credibility of the rules and working mechanisms of the current international architecture, especially the Security Council, which is entrusted with the responsibility of preventing and settling conflicts and halting wars."

Egypt strongly denounced the "selectivity and double standards in dealing with wars and armed conflicts in various regions of the world," it noted.

Jordan on Tuesday expressed regret and disappointment at the failure of the UN Security Council to adopt the resolution.

The Security Council's inability for the third time to issue a resolution to stop the escalating war in Gaza reflects the international failure to halt the humanitarian catastrophe brought by the aggressive war that Israel insists on perpetuating, said spokesperson of the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates Sufian Qudah.

In a statement, he urged the international community, especially the Security Council, to fulfill its responsibilities and issue a resolution to stop the escalating war in Gaza, which has claimed the lives of over 29,000 people, mostly women and children.

The Algerian text was the eighth Gaza-related draft resolution that the Security Council has voted on since Oct 7, 2023. Only two draft resolutions have been adopted, neither of which calls for a cease-fire.