As the war in Gaza drags into its third year, the diplomatic landscape surrounding Israel has shifted dramatically, with even its most steadfast ally, the United States, grappling with the consequences. On October 5, 2025, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio addressed the growing global backlash against Israel during an appearance on CBS News' 'Face The Nation.' "Whether you believe it was justified or not, right or not, you cannot ignore the impact that this has had on Israel's global standing," Rubio stated, highlighting a sentiment that has become increasingly difficult for Washington to sidestep, according to Reuters.
Rubio’s remarks came in response to a pointed critique from President Donald Trump, who, in an interview with Israel's Channel 12, declared, "Bibi (Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu) has gone too far in Gaza and Israel has lost a lot of support in the world. Now I will return all that support." The comments, published on October 4 or 5, 2025, underscored a rare public rift over Israel's conduct and the cost to its international reputation.
The United States has long been Israel's diplomatic shield at the United Nations, regularly wielding its Security Council veto to block resolutions critical of Israeli military actions. Over the past two years, Washington has exercised this veto power six times regarding Gaza-related draft resolutions. The most recent instance occurred in September 2025, when the U.S. blocked a Security Council resolution demanding an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza, as well as the lifting of all restrictions on humanitarian aid deliveries to the besieged enclave. The veto left the U.S. isolated, with the remaining 14 council members voting in favor of the resolution, according to Reuters and CBS News.
While the U.S. did endorse a Security Council statement last month condemning strikes on Qatar's capital, Doha, the text notably avoided naming Israel directly. This diplomatic maneuvering has done little to stem a tide of international condemnation and has, in many ways, deepened the sense of isolation for both Israel and the United States within the UN system.
With the Security Council often paralyzed, the 193-member UN General Assembly has stepped into the breach. Unlike the Security Council, no country wields veto power in the General Assembly, making its resolutions a potent—if non-binding—barometer of global opinion. The Assembly has passed a series of resolutions demanding a ceasefire and improved humanitarian access in Gaza, each time with overwhelming majorities that have left Israel and the U.S. in a shrinking minority. In September 2025, a resolution calling for an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire, as well as unfettered aid access, garnered 149 votes in favor. Only the U.S., Israel, and ten other nations opposed, while 19 abstained.
The pattern has only intensified over time. In October 2023, 120 countries called for an immediate humanitarian truce in Gaza. By December 2023, that number had climbed to 153, and in December 2024, a record 158 countries demanded an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire, as reported by Reuters. Though these resolutions carry no legal force, their moral and political weight is unmistakable, signaling a near-consensus among the international community on the urgency of ending the conflict.
The roots of the current war trace back to October 7, 2023, when Hamas launched a surprise attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people—mostly civilians—and taking about 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. The Israeli military response has been devastating. Local health authorities in Gaza report that more than 67,000 people, the majority of them civilians, have been killed since the conflict began. Just weeks into the war, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told the Reuters NEXT conference that the civilian death toll revealed something "clearly wrong" with Israel's military operations. Guterres further warned, "It is also important to make Israel understand that it is against the interests of Israel to see every day the terrible image of the dramatic humanitarian needs of the Palestinian people. That doesn't help Israel in relation to the global public opinion."
The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has been a focal point for critics and has galvanized international calls for a political solution. In response to the protracted violence and mounting civilian casualties, several Western powers—France, Britain, Australia, and Canada—have taken the significant step of recognizing a Palestinian state. As Rubio noted, "because of the length of this war and how it's gone," these countries have shifted their positions, marking a stark departure from previous reticence, as reported by CBS News and Reuters.
Diplomatic efforts have also intensified. France and Saudi Arabia convened an international summit at the UN in July 2025, followed by a second summit in September, with the goal of outlining concrete steps toward a two-state solution. The UN General Assembly last month overwhelmingly endorsed a declaration from the July conference, which laid out "tangible, timebound, and irreversible steps" toward the establishment of a Palestinian state. The resolution supporting this declaration received 142 votes in favor, 10 against, and 12 abstentions.
The vision of two states living side by side within secure and recognized borders has long been the centerpiece of UN policy. Palestinians seek a state comprising the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip—all territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war with neighboring Arab states. The U.S. position remains that a two-state solution can only be achieved through direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been unequivocal in his opposition. He has bluntly stated he would never allow the establishment of a Palestinian state, even as he approved President Trump's plan to end the Gaza war—a plan that offers a possible, albeit highly conditional, pathway to Palestinian statehood.
This divergence in approaches underscores the complexity of the current moment. While the international community rallies around the idea of a two-state solution and seeks to impose timelines and benchmarks, the parties most central to the conflict remain deeply divided. The U.S., for its part, continues to walk a diplomatic tightrope—publicly supporting Israel's security while privately acknowledging the long-term costs of the ongoing war.
With the humanitarian situation in Gaza worsening, diplomatic isolation for Israel and the U.S. mounting, and the path to peace as elusive as ever, the stakes have rarely been higher. As Secretary Rubio put it, regardless of one’s perspective on the conflict, the impact on Israel’s global standing is impossible to ignore. The coming months will test whether new diplomatic initiatives can break the deadlock—or whether the cycle of violence and vetoes will simply continue.
