US veto blocks ceasefire as Israel continues killing Palestinians
At least 70 Palestinians killed in 24 hours as UN warns of famine and genocide, while US vetoes a global call for peace
GAZA, Palestine (MNTV) — At least 70 Palestinians were killed and 189 injured in relentless Israeli airstrikes across the Gaza Strip, underscoring the deepening humanitarian crisis and global paralysis in halting the bloodshed.
Thursday alone saw 43 Palestinians perish in a wave of bombings.
Among the dead were three journalists — Ismail Badah, Suleiman Hajjaj, and Samir al-Rifai — killed in a strike on Gaza City’s Al-Ahli Arab (Baptist) Hospital. Their deaths added to a growing toll of media workers targeted during the war.
The southern city of Khan Younis suffered significant losses, with 21 victims brought to Nasser Hospital.
A single Israeli strike wiped out a family — a husband, wife, and three children — in al-Mawasi. In nearby Bani Suhaila, four more were killed. Several other deaths occurred throughout the city, including a deadly strike on a charity vehicle.
In central Gaza’s Deir al-Balah, a young girl was killed and several civilians injured when Israeli forces shelled a home. In northern Jabalia town, a pregnant woman and another civilian were killed in an airstrike.
Across Gaza, hundreds have been killed or wounded in recent days at food aid distribution points — sites once seen as a lifeline, now turned into death traps.
As bombs continue to fall and children continue to die, the U.S. again stood alone in blocking an international effort to halt the violence.
At the UN, Washington vetoed a Security Council resolution that demanded an immediate, unconditional, and permanent ceasefire in Gaza. It was the fifth such veto by the U.S. since the war began last year.
Palestinian envoy to the UN, Riyad Mansour, condemned the decision in powerful terms.
“This draft resolution had a simple goal: to stop the genocide, to end the siege, to get aid to starving children and to begin the long path to peace,” he said.
“The US veto is a betrayal of humanity.”
Mansour accused Israel of committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, invoking multiple international court rulings and resolutions.
He warned that two million Palestinians, including one million children, were being “engineered into starvation” and “confined to a limited area to facilitate their expulsion and annexation.”
“This must stop. The siege must end. Humanitarian agencies must be allowed to work freely. Let them work,” he pleaded before the Security Council.
He vowed that Palestinians would now turn to the UN General Assembly and urged member states to take action individually to halt what he described as genocide.
“You have the tools,” he said, “to stop this crime against humanity. Be brave. History will remember who stood up and who stayed silent.”
The toll of Israel’s eight-month-long assault is staggering with 54,607 Palestinians kiled and 125,341 wounded, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry.
Among the dead are thousands of children, aid workers, and journalists. Entire families have been erased in single strikes. Hospitals and schools — even UN shelters — have been repeatedly targeted.
In November, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former Defence Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel also stands trial before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), facing a landmark genocide case filed by South Africa. The court has already issued preliminary orders for Israel to ensure humanitarian access and prevent acts of genocide.
UN agencies report that over one million children are now on the brink of famine. Gaza’s infrastructure has collapsed. Medical facilities are overwhelmed. Clean water is scarce. Sewage flows through the streets of bombed-out neighbourhoods.
Aid convoys are rare, often halted or struck by air raids. Even when distribution points are opened, civilians risk death just trying to collect food.
Palestinians are now calling on ordinary citizens, civil society, and nations acting in their own capacities to take bold steps — economic sanctions, arms embargoes, legal action — to halt the carnage.
As Mansour declared: “It is long past time. The world must choose — between complicity and courage.”
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