UNSC condemns Israeli massacre at Gaza school, raps US supply of arms to Israel

Members of the international body condemned the recent Israeli massacre at a school sheltering the displaced Palestinians in Gaza which killed at least 100 civilians, most of them women and children.

Russi and China have both held the United States accountable for the deadly attack due to the staunch support of Washington for the Israeli regime.

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

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

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.

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 US 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.

The permanent representative of Algeria at the UN, at the demand of whom the meeting was held, 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," Amar 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.

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

That as earlier in the day, the US approved a new multi-billion-dollar military package aid for Israel as the regime’s genocidal war against Gaza has entered 11^th month leaving a trail of death and destruction behind.