Nearly 5 Months of Israeli Attacks Leave 29,000 Palestinians Dead

The Israeli military's aggression in the Gaza Strip, Palestine, has lasted nearly five months and continues to claim lives.

According to data compiled by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), between October 7, 2023, and February 21, 2024, 29,313 Gazans were killed and 69,333 injured as a result of Israeli attacks.

OCHA reports that Israel continues to bomb the Gaza Strip from air, land, and sea, resulting in increasing civilian casualties, displacement, and infrastructure destruction.

Ground fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian Hamas armed groups is also ongoing, particularly in southern Gaza City and Al Mawasi in northwestern Khan Younis, where tens of thousands of refugees are located.

Amidst the raging conflict, the UN Security Council is still attempting to draft a resolution urging a ceasefire.

Its latest draft resolution, prepared by Algeria, has been supported by 13 of the 15 UN Security Council member states.

However, the United Kingdom abstained, and the United States again used its veto to block the resolution on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.

The US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, believes this draft resolution could undermine ongoing ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas.

"While we cannot support a resolution that would jeopardize sensitive negotiations, we hope to be involved in an agreement that we believe will address many of the concerns we share," Greenfield said, as reported by CNN International on Tuesday, February 20, 2024.

This is the third time the US has vetoed a ceasefire resolution in the Gaza Strip since October 7, 2023.

Algeria, a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council that initiated the latest draft resolution, condemned the US stance.

"The vote against this draft resolution implies support for the brutal violence inflicted on the Gaza Strip," said Algeria's Ambassador to the UN, Amar Bendjama, as reported by Reuters on Wednesday, February 21, 2024.