U.S. under fire for veto of U.N. cease-fire resolution
Written by Black Hot Fire Network on February 21, 2024
WFP suspends food deliveries to northern Gaza amid ‘chaos’
Larissa Gao
The World Food Program announced a pause on food deliveries to northern Gaza because of Israeli operations and the “complete chaos and violence” caused by the collapse of civil order, fueling fears that hunger in the area could intensify.
The decision has not “been taken lightly” as thousands of people “risk dying of hunger,” the U.N. food agency said in a statement yesterday. But “the safety and security to deliver critical food aid — and for the people receiving it — must be ensured,” it added.
The agency said it tried to resume aid deliveries last weekend after a three-week suspension, but that during the deliveries hungry residents tried to climb onto the trucks and beat up a driver, while convoys also faced threats from Israeli gunfire.
It said it would try to resume the food deliveries “in a responsible manner” as soon as possible and called for a “large-scale expansion” of its assistance to northern Gaza.
War propaganda displayed in Tehran
Max Butterworth
A banner written in Persian and Hebrew reads ‘We are stronger and more motivated than ever. Are you ready for 2 million displaced people?’ with pictures of Iranian missiles being launched on the side of a building at Palestine Square in the Iranian capital, Tehran, yesterday.
Iran accuses Israel of attacking its gas pipelines
Larissa Gao
Israeli attacks were behind a series of blasts that struck Iranian gas pipelines last week, Iran’s oil minister alleged today.
Oil Minister Javad Owji said the Israeli “plot” failed as only a few pipelines were damaged, adding that the gas supply had returned to normal, the semi-official Tasnim News Agency reported today.
Last Wednesday, two explosions rocked major pipelines in southwestern Iran, which Owji called a “terrorist act of sabotage” initially but did not name who might have been behind it.
Israel has not acknowledged carrying out an attack, though it rarely claims any espionage missions abroad and has been engaged in a “shadow war” with Tehran.
‘We are not on a killing spree,’ IDF chief tells commanders
Chantal Da Silva
TEL AVIV — Israeli forces are not meant to be “on a killing spree, revenge or genocide” in their offensive in Gaza, Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevy told commanders in a recent letter.
In an excerpt of the letter published online by the IDF yesterday, Halevy says soldiers must “be careful not to use force where it is not required, to distinguish between terrorist and non-terrorist, not to take anything that is not ours — a souvenir or military item — and not to film revenge videos.”
“We will not make a mistake and allow the enemy to make an achievement in the international arena,” Halevy writes in the letter. It was not clear exactly when the letter was shared with commanders.
Halevy added that Israel would soon begin the process of investigating the events of Oct. 7, when Hamas launched its deadly attacks on Israel, with each unit and force expected to investigate “the battles and the events in which they participated.”
China leads global criticism of U.S. cease-fire veto at U.N.
Larissa Gao
HONG KONG — China accused the U.S. of sending the “wrong message” and pushing Gaza “into a more dangerous situation” as it vetoed a U.N. resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
“Under the current circumstances, remaining passive and evasive on the issue of an immediate cease-fire is tantamount to giving the green light for continued killing,” the Chinese envoy to the U.N., Zhang Jun, said.
Russia and Saudi Arabia were also critical, while diplomats from France and Qatar voiced regret. Aid groups expressed dismay, with Doctors Without Borders accusing Washington of being “complicit in extending the suffering of Palestinian civilians.”
The vote in the 15-member Security Council was 13-1 on the Arab-backed resolution, with the U.S. vetoing and Britain abstaining.
Bombardments continue in Gaza City
Max Butterworth
Smoke rises from buildings in Gaza City during an Israeli bombardment yesterday, as debris from shattered buildings lines the streets.
U.S. would like cease-fire by Ramadan; Israel has not provided plan for Rafah
Abigail Williams
Israel has not presented a plan to protect more than a million civilians in Rafah ahead of its threatened assault on the border city, according to State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller.
Miller said in a briefing yesterday that while he’s seen reports that a plan is being drafted, he could not speak to what that might include. Officials are also hoping a temporary cease-fire can be implemented in Gaza before the start of Ramadan, which is expected to begin March 10 after sunset.
“As I said we’d like to get it as soon as possible, so that’s what we’re going to continue to try to do,” Miller said. “At the same time, we have made clear that Israel should not launch a full military campaign in Rafah unless it has a humanitarian plan that is both credible and realistic and one that they can execute.”
Israeli Minister Benny Gantz, a member of the government’s war Cabinet, said yesterday that Israel’s military campaign will continue into the holy Islamic month if hostages are still in Gaza at the time.
