Israeli PM cancels White House visit by two ministers and says US ‘abandoned its policy in the UN’ after abstaining on vote

The UN security council has voted to demand an immediate ceasefire in Gaza for the first time since the start of the Israel-Hamas war, after the US dropped a threat to veto, bringing Israel to near total isolation on the world stage.

The vote result sets up the strongest public clash between the US president, Joe Biden, and the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, since the war began.

Washington’s decision not to use its veto is an acknowledgement of its failure to lead the UN Gaza agenda

Diplomacy occasionally has the capacity to surprise, and when it does it often portends a deep shifting in the landscape.

Few as recently as the end of last week saw much chance that the UN security council would be able to put aside five months of division over Gaza and agree terms for an immediate ceasefire, yet on Monday that is precisely what happened, in no small part due to some British diplomatic persuasion and a significant American change of heart.

Guardian Newsroom: The unfolding crisis in the Middle East

Source says wording suggests significant movement in US position as pressure mounts on Israel to halt campaign

The US has drafted a new UN security council resolution calling for an “immediate ceasefire” and hostage deal in Gaza, amid mounting pressure on Israel to halt its military campaign and allow the delivery of substantial amounts of humanitarian aid into the Palestinian territory.

The CIA and Mossad spy chiefs, William Burns and David Barnea, were expected to arrive in Qatar on Friday in the hope of clinching an elusive truce-for-hostages deal between Israel and Hamas. Speaking in Egypt, the US secretary of state, Antony Blinken, said difficult work remained to be done but added: “I continue to believe it’s possible.”