The United States has once again backed Israel’s genocidal war in Gaza, blocking a UN Security Council statement that would have blamed the Israeli forces for killing Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid in the besieged strip.
The statement, which was drafted by Algeria, was supported by 14 of the 15 council members on Thursday, Riyad Mansour, the Palestinian UN ambassador, told reporters.
Algeria called for a UNSC emergency meeting behind closed doors after Israeli forces opened fire on Palestinians waiting for humanitarian aid near al-Nabulsi roundabout in Gaza City earlier on Thursday, killing at least 112 people and injuring hundreds of others.
The US defended its blocking of the motion, citing contradictory reports and a lack of all facts.
“We don’t have all the facts on the ground – that’s the problem,” US deputy ambassador Robert Wood told reporters.
The Israeli military claimed that civilians had attacked the aid trucks and scores of people had been trampled. The claim, however, was disputed by witness accounts.
The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas described the Israeli claims as a “trivial narrative” aimed at justifying the “horrific massacre.”
Washington has repeatedly vetoed UN resolutions that call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, with the latest time being on Tuesday.
Washington, instead, has been actively pushing for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza to facilitate the release of Israeli captives held by the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas.
Israel waged its genocidal war on Gaza on October 7 after the Palestinian Hamas resistance group carried out Operation Al-Aqsa Storm against the usurping entity in retaliation for its intensified atrocities against the Palestinian people.
Washington has since supplied the regime with more than 10,000 tons of military equipment.
Since the start of the offensive, the Tel Aviv regime has killed 30,035 Palestinians and injured 70,457 others.
The Tel Aviv regime has also imposed a “complete siege” on the territory, cutting off fuel, electricity, food and water to the more than two million Palestinians living there.
