UNSC denounces Israeli strike on Gaza school, blames US for weapons supply

NEW YORK

U.N. Security Council members denounced the Israeli military's recent attack on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza that killed at least 100 Palestinians, while Russia and China held the U.S. accountable for the incident due to weapons support.

"When pushing for Security Council Resolution 2735, the U.S. claimed that Israel had accepted a cease-fire agreement, but the reality is quite the opposite," Fu Cong, Permanent Representative of China to the U.N., told the Council during an emergency session on Palestine on Tuesday that was requested by Algeria.

Saying there are no "credible signs of Israel's commitment to a cease-fire," Cong said "what we see is ever-expanding military operations and ever-rising civilian casualties."

The Chinese envoy noted that the U.S. is the "largest supplier of weapons" to Israel and has enough influence over the country.

"We hope that the U.S. will take sincere and responsible actions to push Israel to stop its military operations in Gaza as soon as possible, and to stop slaughtering civilians," he added.

Reminding that "civilian lives must not be trivialized," Cong condemned the recent Israeli attack on Al-Tabeen School in eastern Gaza and also reports of sexual violence committed by Israeli soldiers against Palestinian prisoners.

Amid the callouts, U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Tuesday approved more than $20 billion in new weapons sales to Israel, brushing aside pressure from rights activists to stop arms deliveries over the death toll in Gaza.

Russian envoy Dmitry Polyanskiy told the Council that his country is "extremely shaken" by the attack on the school and expressed Russia's "sincere condolences to the families of those who died, and we wish a speedy recovery to those who were injured."

Similarly, Polyanskiy blamed the U.S. for the ongoing civilian casualties in Gaza.

"Expecting our Western, primarily American, colleagues in cahoots with Israel to express any compassion to Palestinians is pointless," he said.

Saying that condemnation "will not work" against Israel's ongoing attacks, the Russian envoy said "the problem runs much deeper."

He blamed the Western states that "pander" to Israel for the escalation in the crisis in the Middle East.

"More than 14 members of the Security Council are being held hostage by the U.S., who blocks any action towards an immediate cease-fire," Polyanskiy added.

The permanent representative of Algeria at the U.N., Amar Bendjama, asked the members: "How long is it going to be yet another ineffective, vain and hopeless meeting of the Security Council?"

He stressed that the Security Council "has the legal and moral primary responsibility to act, and to act firmly to shoulder its mandate in preserving international peace and security."

Saying that the Council "has been constantly fooled and disregarded" for over 300 days as the people of Gaza are "subjected to collective punishment," Bendjama said the school massacre "wouldn't have been possible without the generous financial and military assistance freely provided to the Israeli aggressor."

He called on the Council to "fulfill its responsibilities and honor its commitment," and demanded for Israel to be held accountable by "using all legal means, including sanctions."

"There is no room for delaying or overcomplicating negotiations by adding new conditionalities or new demands," he added.

Meanwhile, the deputy permanent representative of the UK to the U.N., James Kariuki, said they are "appalled by the Israeli military strike on Al-Tabeen School, where Palestinian civilians were sheltering."

As he called on Israel to comply "with its obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians," the British envoy also expressed horror over the reports of "sexual violence and abuse faced by the hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli detention, many of whom are children."

"We have also heard completely unacceptable rhetoric from Israeli ministers relating to the mistreatment of detainees and starvation of civilians in Gaza. We call upon the government of Israel to retract and condemn these remarks," he added.

U.S. envoy Linda Thomas-Greenfield conveyed deep concern over the civilian casualties resulting from the school massacre but reiterated U.S. support to Israel regarding its "right to pursue Hamas."

"Israel has a right to respond to threats. But how it does that matters," she said, calling on Israel to "take measures to minimize civilian harm."