US 'responsible for bloodshed' after ceasefire veto, Palestinian Authority President says
The UN has warned that Gaza is 'on the brink of collapse'
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has said the US is responsible for the "bloodshed" of civilians in the Gaza Strip.
It comes just a day after the US vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire and release of all hostages in Gaza.
The vote had been backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations. The vote in the 15-member council was 13-1, with the United Kingdom abstaining.
“Attacks from air, land and sea are intense, continuous and widespread,” UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said before the vote.
Gaza residents “are being told to move like human pinballs – ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival.”
Guterres told the council that Gaza was at “a breaking point” with the humanitarian support system at risk of total collapse, and that he feared “the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region.”
According to the Palestinian official news agency WAFA, Abbas condemned the US vote, dubbing the nations position as "a blatant violation of human values and principles."
Abbas has also said he holds the United States "responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women, and elderly in the Gaza Strip," according to CNN.
The Palestinian Authority, which Abbas has led since 2005, is the government body that controls parts of the West Bank. It used to run the Gaza strip but lost control in 2007 following elections and a brief conflict with Hamas militants.
Borders with Israel and Egypt sealed
Gaza’s borders with Israel and Egypt are effectively sealed, leaving Palestinians with no option other than to seek refuge within the territory.
The overall Palestinian death toll in Gaza has surpassed 17,400, the majority of them women and children, according to the Health Ministry in the Hamas-controlled territory, whose counts do not differentiate between civilians and combatants.
Israel holds Hamas responsible for civilian casualties, accusing the militants of using civilians as human shields, and says it’s made considerable efforts with its evacuation orders to get civilians out of harm’s way.
It has said 93 Israeli soldiers have died since the ground offensive began.
Yousaf says UK 'complicit in killing children' in Gaza
Scotland's First Minister Humza Yousaf said the UK was “complicit the killing of thousands of children” after the UK voted against a ceasefire in Gaza, as activists protested in Glasgow.
The First Minister, who has Palestinian in-laws, said it was “incomprehensible” that the UK abstained from the vote at the UN Security Council.
Writing on X, formerly Twitter, he said: “I agree with @savechildrenuk. I find it incomprehensible that the UK did not vote for a ceasefire. How can you choose to be complicit in the killing of thousands of children?
“Shame on the UK Government & Keir Starmer’s Labour Party who refuse to back a #CeasefireNow”.
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