Members of the Al-Qassam Brigades hand over of Israeli hostages to the Red Cross, as part of the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, in Rafah, February 22, 2025. (Photo: Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)
Acting U.S. Ambassador Dorothy Shea rejected accusations in the UN Security Council that Israel was conducting “indiscriminate attacks” in Gaza after Israel resumed military strikes in the enclave.
Shea, who is serving as the interim ambassador to the UN, addressed a Security Council which was practically united against Israel.
UN Office for Humanitarian Affairs head Tom Fletcher, said he was “distressed to report that in addition to the intense air strikes that have resumed, since March 2, Israeli authorities have cut off the entry of all life saving supplies for 2.1 million people.”
“Overnight our worst fears materialized. Airstrikes resumed across the entire Gaza Strip. Unconfirmed reports of hundreds of people killed… and once again, the people of Gaza [are] living in abject fear,” Fletcher told the council, which had met to discuss Israel’s refusal to allow humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip after Hamas rejected the first attempt to extend phase one of the hostage-ceasefire proposal negotiated under the administration of former President Joe Biden.
“This total blockade of life-saving aid, basic commodities and commercial goods will have a disastrous impact on the people of Gaza who remain dependent on [a] steady flow of assistance,” Fletcher said. “As Gaza is cut off – again – our ability to deliver assistance and basic services is becoming harder.”
The Algerian ambassador to the UN, Amar Bendjama, accused Israel of using starvation as “a weapon of war.”
While Russia’s deputy ambassador to the UN, Dmitry Polyanskiy, said the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has become “truly biblical in nature,” calling on Israel to end aid restrictions in Gaza and Judea and Samaria.
Shea responded to such comments, by saying the blame lies with Hamas, not Israel.
“This brutal terrorist organization has steadfastly refused every proposal and deadline they’ve been presented over the past few weeks, including a bridge proposal to extend the ceasefire beyond Ramadan and Passover to allow time to negotiate a framework for a permanent ceasefire,” Ambassador Shea told the Security Council. “The blame for the resumption of hostilities lies solely with Hamas.”
“The IDF is striking Hamas positions,” Shea said, addressing the resumption of strikes. “It is well known that Hamas continues to use civilian infrastructure as launching pads, and the United States condemns this practice, as should others.”
Jonathan Miller, Israel’s deputy ambassador to the UN, contested reports of starving in Gaza due to a shortage of humanitarian aid.
“If there is suffering in Gaza, it is not because of a lack of aid. It is because Hamas has hijacked an entire civilian population for its own violent ends,” Miller said.
“Hamas diverts food. Hamas hoards fuel. Hamas transforms hospitals, schools and UN facilities into command centers, ensuring that even in the presence of humanitarian aid, suffering persists,” Miller stated.
Interim-Ambassador Shea said the U.S. supports Israel in its decision to use military pressure against Hamas.
“President Trump has made clear that Hamas must release the hostages immediately or pay a high price, and we support Israel in its next steps,” she remarked.
