A draft U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza was blocked by Washington because it failed to call out Hamas as a terrorist organization.

The flag of the United Nations moves in the wind outside before the start of the UN General Assembly 79th session General Debate in UN General Assembly Hall at the United Nations Headquarters on Tuesday, September 24, 2024 in New York City. Photo by John Angelillo/UPI UPI

Sept. 19 (UPI) -- The United States voted down a United Nations Security Council resolution calling for a permanent end to the fighting in Gaza and the release of all hostages on the grounds that it did not contain sufficient condemnation of Hamas.

The other 14 countries on the council all backed the draft resolution, which was put forward by its 10 non-permanent members, in the vote at the United Nations in New York on Thursday. Permanent members the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China can individually veto any resolution.

Describing the humanitarian conditions in Gaza as "catastrophic," the resolution demanded Israel remove all restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid and ensure it was safely distributed to the population, in particular by United Nations bodies and other agencies.

U.S. deputy envoy to the Middle East, Morgan Ortagus, said the resolution's failure to condemn Hamas or recognize Israel's right to defend itself meant Washington's opposition should not be a surprise to anyone.

She said the text also "wrongly legitimizes the false narratives benefiting Hamas, which have sadly found currency in this Council," she said.

"This resolution also refuses to acknowledge and seeks to return to a failed system that has allowed Hamas to enrich and strengthen itself at the expense of civilians in need," Ortagus said.

Ortega also used the debate to attack a finding of genocide against Israel by the U.N.'s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, calling it "slanderous," saying it lacked any credibility and accusing the commission of an "anti-Semitic witch-hunt."

It was the sixth time Washington blocked efforts to pass such a resolution since the conflict erupted on Oct. 7, 2023, when Hamas and other militant groups crossed into southern Israel and went on a rampage, killing about 1,200 people and abducting hundreds of others.

Since then, Israel's military response to the attack has killed more than 65,000 Palestinians in the enclave, according to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, which, together with other policies and actions, has plunged the territory into a desperate humanitarian crisis.

The health ministry said 435 people, including 147 children, have starved to death.

Denmark, one of the co-sponsors, said the effort sent a clear message and vowed to keep trying until a resolution was passed.

"Even though this resolution was not adopted today at this 10,000th meeting of the Council, 14 members of this Council have sent a clear message," said Danish Ambassador to the U.N. Christina Markus Lassen.

"We want to see an immediate and lasting cease-fire, the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, and the urgent lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian aid. We will continue to work for this for however many Council meetings it may take," she said.

Israel's permanent representative to the U.N., Danny Danon, hailed the United States' "leadership and moral conviction" in vetoing what he said was a biased resolution that would only benefit Hamas.

"What we see here is not diplomacy, it is theatre. By endorsing a draft resolution that dares to imply Israel is starving the people of Gaza, you echo the propaganda of Hamas. Make no mistake -- Hamas waits in the wings, the only beneficiary of this stage drama," he told the meeting.

He said the resolution failed to label Hamas as a terrorist organization, condemn the Oct. 7 attacks, demand they lay down their arms or give up power.

Danon insisted that aid was flowing into Gaza, stressing that "starvation is not -- and has never been -- Israel's policy" and that its targets were terror and those starving the hostages.

Thursday's vote came just days before the U.N. General Assembly was due to convene on Tuesday in New York, where seven more countries, including Britain, France, Canada and Australia, are expected to recognize a Palestinian state.

Democrats in the U.S. Senate on Thursday launched a bid for the United States to follow suit, introducing a first-of-its-kind bill into the upper chamber calling on President Donald Trump to recognize a Palestinian state.

Sponsored by Sen. Jeff Merkley, Ore., the non-binding resolution urges Trump to recognize a demilitarized State of Palestine that is consistent with the principle of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

It stands little chance of being adopted by the Republican-held Senate, and even if it did, it would almost certainly be vetoed when it reached Trump's desk.