Russia reacts to US vetoing Gaza ceasefire
By again vetoing a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, the US has shown a disregard for human life, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has claimed.
On Tuesday, Washington blocked a third attempt by UNSC members to pause the fighting in Gaza. The Algerian-drafted resolution, calling for an immediate humanitarian truce, was backed by 13 nations in the 15-member body, including Russia and China. The US was the only country to vote ‘no,’ while the UK abstained.
The Americans “are blocking the call for a ceasefire. That’s it. This is their attitude towards people, not towards people of a certain nationality, but towards people in general,” Zakharova said in an interview with Sputnik Radio on Wednesday.
“The solution [to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict], towards which the US is pushing people and regions, does not exist,” she stressed, without explaining what she believes Washington is trying to achieve in Gaza.
While the Americans continue to obstruct a truce, the situation in Gaza “only deteriorates,” the spokeswoman added.
Zakharova also commented on Washington’s decision in early February to sanction several Israeli settlers, who were accused of stoking violence in the occupied West Bank.
“Just think about it. Did these settlers come out of nowhere?.. They are part of the [Israeli] government system, which was supported by the US in the first place. The US was the guarantor of the well-being of the people who developed these lands,” she stated.
Washington’s envoy to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said the US used its veto power on Tuesday over concerns that the resolution would “negatively impact” the current talks – involving the US, Israel, Egypt and Qatar – on the release of hostages held by the Palestinian armed group Hamas.
“Demanding an immediate unconditional ceasefire without an agreement requiring Hamas to release the hostages will not bring about durable peace. Instead, it could extend the fighting between Hamas and Israel,” Thomas-Greenfield claimed.
Israel has been bombarding Gaza since October 7 when Hamas carried out an incursion into the country, killing some 1,200 people and capturing 253 others. The group is still holding 134 hostages.
According to the latest data from Gaza’s health ministry, 29,195 people have been killed and 69,170 others wounded as a result of the IDF’s airstrikes and ground offensive.
