US vetoes UNSC statement blaming IOF for Gaza's al-Rashid massacre
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Of the UN Security Council's 15 members, 14 supported the text.
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The body of a Palestinian killed in an early morning Israeli massacre in the al-Rashid Street west of Gaza City, on February 29, 2024. (AFP)
In continuation of its diplomatic cover for its biggest ally "Israel", the United States blocked on Thursday a UN Security Council statement that would have condemned the massacre committed by Israeli occupation forces against Palestinians waiting in line for aid in the al-Rashid Street west of Gaza City.
The Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip condemned the Israeli massacre, saying 112 people were martyred and more than 750 wounded.
A field source from the Palestinian Resistance told Al Mayadeen that Israeli armored vehicles and tanks ran over the bodies of several martyrs, while others fired incendiary shells toward civilians in the area.
The occupation forces also arbitrarily detained hundreds of civilians in the same area, transferring them to an unknown location, the source mentioned.
The Israeli occupation military claimed that a "stampede" occurred when thousands of Gazans surrounded a convoy of 38 aid trucks. An Israeli source said troops had opened fire on the crowd, believing it "posed a threat."
The Palestinian ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, pleaded for the Security Council to condemn the Israeli massacre.
"The Security Council should say enough is enough," Mansour told reporters ahead of a closed-door meeting by the body, which came at the request of Algeria.
He stressed that "this outrageous massacre is a testimony to the fact that as long as the Security Council is paralyzed and vetoes (are) casted, then it is costing the Palestinian people their lives."
As one of five permanent members of the 15-member council, the United States has a veto that it has used three times so far to prevent the Security Council from calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
At Thursday's meeting, Algeria put forth a draft declaration expressing "deep concern", which stated that the situation was "due to opening fire by Israel forces."
Of the Council's 15 members, "14 members supported the text," Mansour said after the meeting.
According to a diplomatic source, the United States opposed "Israel" being named in the statement, but discussions were ongoing.
US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood said that "the parties are working on some language to see if we can get to a statement."
"The problem is that we don't have all the facts here," he claimed, adding that he wanted the wording to reflect "the necessary due diligence with regards to culpability."
Mansour said he met earlier in the day with US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
"I implored her that the Security Council has to produce a product of condemning this killing and to go after those responsible for this massacre," he said.
If the Security Council has "a spine and determination to put an end to these massacres from happening all over again, what we need is a ceasefire," the Palestinian ambassador underlined.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the situation "would require an effective independent investigation," into how the deaths occurred and who was responsible, after condemning the episode earlier in the day through his spokesman.
Read more: World leaders react to Israeli massacre in Gaza's al-Rashid Street
