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Join on Telegram Rabat – In response to recent comments by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva comparing the Israeli Occupation Forces’ bloody war on Gazans to the Holocaust, the US State Department has reiterated its position that it does not believe genocide is unfolding in Gaza.
The US “obviously” disagrees with such comparisons, said State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller, adding: “We have been quite clear that we do not believe that genocide has occurred in Gaza.”
Miller’s remarks come amid heightened international attention on the crisis in Gaza, particularly following the Biden administration’s vetoing of the latest UN Security Council Resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The US envoy to the UN defended the veto by arguing that the resolution, which was proposed by Algeria, would harm ongoing truce negotiations between Israel and Hamas.
The office of the Palestinian Authority President slammed the US for blocking the UN Security Council ceasefire measure, accusing Washington of protecting Israel’s “barbaric attacks” against the people of Gaza.
In a strongly worded statement following news of the US veto, the Palestinian presidency described the US as being complicit in “crimes of genocide and ethnic cleansing” committed by Israeli occupation forces.
Read also: Gaza: Global Frustration Against US Ceasefire Veto
Palestine’s envoy to the US Riyad Mansour told Al Jazeera that it is “very regrettable” that the US vetoed yet another resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. He added defiantly: “We will continue knocking on the door of the Security Council, the General Assembly … all components of the United Nations.”
In addition, the Palestinian diplomat slammed the US’ attempt to justify using its veto power, saying that “a ceasefire will help the negotiation to move forward swiftly, and to accomplish the objective of the exchange of prisoners, and hostages.”
Meanwhile, concerns over the humanitarian situation in the besieged Gaza Strip continue to mount. The World Food Programme (WFP) recently paused much-needed aid delivery in northern Gaza, citing chaos caused by starvation and a breakdown of social order.
Shaina Low, of the Norwegian Refugee Council, highlighted the extreme danger humanitarian workers face in Gaza. She cited risks such as Israeli forces targeting convoys and the charging and looting of aid convoys due to desperation caused by the lack of aid.
The WFP chief Cindy McCain warned that a famine may happen in Gaza if these challenges persist. “A famine doesn’t have to happen. But if things don’t change, it will,” she said in a post on X, formerly Twitter.
A widely shared video showed children in northern Gaza taking to the streets with empty pots, banging them with spoons as they shouted “We want flour.” Other devastating videos showed young children collecting spilled flour from the ground amid a hunger crisis.
