UN ceasefire vote: Why has the US vetoed Gaza ceasefire proposal put to the United Nations Security Council? What is the significance of the UK Parliament ceasefire vote?

The proposal put to the UN Security Council by Arab nations has been vetoed by the US

A proposal for a ceasefire in Gaza put forward by Arab countries to the United Nations’ Security Council has been vetoed by the US.

However, Washington has put forward its own, alternative, proposal, which will be not be voted on today. Meanwhile, the UK Parliament is due to debate its own ceasefire calls vote on Wednesday.

What is the US proposal? What does it mean for hopes of peace in Gaza?

Nearly 1.5 million displaced Palestinians are trapped in Rafah - more than half of Gaza's population.

The new US proposal is a U-turn for the government led by president Joe Biden, which has previously shied away from using the word “ceasefire”.

The draft resolution for a temporary ceasefire put forward by the US also warned Israel against invading the southern Gazan city of Rafah. The US has veto a draft resolution presented by Algeria that called for an immediate halt in fighting.

The draft resolution says that an invasion into Rafah, which is now home to more than a million people – over half of the population of Gaza – “would have serious implications for regional peace and security” that one should not take place “under current circumstances”.

It has warned doing so could jeopardise progress made in talks between Hamas and Israel brokered by Qatar.

How bad is the humanitarian situation in Gaza?

Last week, charity ActionAid warned Gaza is in the midst of an “unprecedented and totally avoidable” hunger crisis.

According to the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organisation, the entire 2.3 million population is classified as facing either crisis, emergency or catastrophic levels of food insecurity, while more and more people are on the brink of famine-like conditions. ActionAid said there was hardly any food available for people to buy and prices were very high, while the distribution of food aid is limited and inconsistent.

Children and pregnant women are said to be suffering from particularly high levels of malnutrition, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO). The body has warned the situation is particularly extreme in the Northern Gaza Strip, which has been almost completely cut off from aid for weeks.

On Tuesday, WHO said it had stepped in to transfer 32 critical patients, including two children, from Nasser Medical Complex in southern Gaza, where Israeli troops recently carried out an operation where they reportedly arrested hundreds of Hamas militants. The hospital, where it has been claimed patients are dying every day and which has neither tap water nor electricity, had been the largest functioning hospital in Gaza until last week.

What could happen if the US proposal is agreed by the UN’s Security Council?

The proposal calls for a temporary ceasefire, which would be aimed at being a warning shot for Israel and its retaliatory attacks on Gaza.

The US has been heavily involved in peace talks between Israel and Hamas and will be well aware of what both sides are or are not likely to accept. What it will do, however, if Israel does not comply with a resolution calling for a ceasefire, is less clear.

The UN charter’s Chapter VII empowers the Security Council to take assertive actions, such as imposing sanctions or authorising the use of force “to maintain or restore international peace and security”.

Since 1966, the Security Council has established 31 sanctions regimes against countries including the former Yugoslavia in response to the Bosnian War and Croatian War in the 1990s and Al-Qaida in Iraq.

Doing so against Israel would be a significant shift away from many countries’ initial support for the country following the October 7 Hamas attacks, which killed more than 1,000 Israeli civilians.

What is the UK ceasefire vote?

The SNP has tabled a motion calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, which is expected to be debated in the House of Commons on Wednesday evening.

The party has written to every MP on the eve of the vote, urging them to "vote with your conscience for an immediate ceasefire".

A similar vote was tabled in November by the SNP. However, it was not passed after both the Conservative Party and Labour opted not to back the call. Eight shadow ministers broke ranks at the time to back an immediate ceasefire, with some 56 Labour members defying a three-line whip and backing an amendment to the King’s Speech.

If the motion is passed this time, the UK would be among a growing number of countries putting international pressure on Israel to hold a ceasefire.