Israel was hit by an unprecedented rocket attack from the Gaza Strip on October 7, with Hamas movement's troops infiltrating border areas. On October 8, the Israeli government announced that it had invoked Article 40 of the Basic Law, which means the country was officially in a state of war.

US Bears Responsibility for Nearly 30,000 Deaths in Gaza as Result of UNSC Veto, Envoy Says

09:08, 28 February 2024

UNITED NATIONS (Sputnik) - Last week, the United States vetoed an Algeria-drafted UN Security Council resolution that was calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. Thirteen members of the UN Security Council voted in favor, with the United Kingdom abstaining.

Sputnik

The US bears full responsibility for the high number of deaths in Gaza as a result of its vetoes used in the UN Security Council meetings, Russian Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said on Tuesday.

“Washington bears full responsibility for the unprecedented number of civilian victims of this escalation. Their number is now near 30,000. And that is the cost of the American veto in the Security Council on Gaza,” Nebenzia said in a meeting of the UN Security Council on Food Security.

Nebenzia also called on the UN Council members not to adopt the newly drafted US resolution on Gaza, as it is yet "another license to kill" being given to Israel.

Earlier today, UN Humanitarian Coordinator Martin Griffiths said that widespread famine is almost inevitable.

Israel-Palestine Escalation

US Veto on Algeria's UN Resolution Became License to Continue Killings in Gaza, Moscow Says

22 February, 08:31

Furthermore, the diplomat said that the latest US-drafted resolution on Gaza should be rejected by UN Security Council members, as it fails to call for a ceasefire and constitutes yet another license to kill given to Israel.

“The alternative American draft resolution in the Security Council on Gaza does not contain an appeal for a ceasefire and is aimed at broadening the UN umbrella to the acts of Israel,” Nebenzia stated. “This is not an alternative. This is yet another license to kill, which the United States wants to give to Israel, but this time to have a Security Council signature on it. I call on members of the council not to support this destructive initiative.”

On October 7, 2023, Palestinian movement Hamas launched a large-scale rocket attack against Israel from Gaza and breached the border, killing 1,200 people and abducting around 240 others. Israel launched retaliatory strikes, ordered a complete blockade of Gaza, and started a ground incursion into the Palestinian enclave with the declared goal of eliminating Hamas fighters and rescuing the hostages. At least 29,700 people have been killed so far in the Gaza Strip, local authorities said.

On November 24, Qatar mediated a deal between Israel and Hamas on a temporary truce and the exchange of some of the prisoners and hostages, as well as the delivery of humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip. The ceasefire was extended several times and expired on December 1. More than 100 hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas in Gaza.