US Blocks UNSC Statement Blaming Israel for Deadly Gaza Stampede

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Facts

  • The US has blocked a UN Security Council statement forwarded by Arab states that blamed Israel for Thursday's deadly events near Gaza City, in which over 100 Palestinians died in a stampede around an aid convoy, stating not all the facts were known as of yet.1
  • Thursday's incident has generated global outrage, with several countries condemning Israeli forces for their alleged role in the chaos. The timeline of Thursday's events is still unclear, with contradictory reports regarding whether Israeli forces caused the stampede or not.2
  • The Israeli military has argued that chaos erupted without Israeli intervention and Israeli soldiers only fired on people who approached their checkpoint near the aid convoy, adding that fewer than 10 of the fatalities were caused by direct Israeli fire. The US said an investigation is underway.1
  • Regarding cease-fire negotiations, Israeli negotiators left Qatar on Thursday as talks again stalled. According to senior Israeli officials, Israel has told Egypt and Qatar that it will not continue talks until Hamas clarifies which hostages are still alive and provides a new number of Palestinian prisoners to be released.3
  • Meanwhile, talks between rivals Hamas and Fatah, the Palestinian political party that leads the Palestinian Authority (PA) in the West Bank, seemingly made progress on Friday, with the two groups announcing they would pursue 'unity of action.' The PA also signaled 'upcoming dialogue' regarding Hamas coming under the entity's ascendancy.4
  • Gaza's Health Ministry reports that the war's official death toll has surpassed 30K Palestinians, most of whom were women and children. The official Israeli death toll on Oct. 7 stands at around 1.2K people (and there are still over 100 hostages being held in the Gaza Strip).5

Sources: 1The Times of Israel, 2New York Times, 3Axios, 4Al Arabiya and 5NPR Online News.

Narratives

  • Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by CBS. Due to the complicated nature of unfortunate incidents like this one, Israel must conduct a thorough investigation to maintain its moral high ground and demonstrate that it's serious about ending this war. The US has proudly stood by Israel in its battle against Hamas' terrorist forces. However, with every passing day that a temporary cease-fire is not in effect, Israel loses the strategic gains it has made and isolates itself on the international stage.
  • Pro-Israel narrative, as provided by Jerusalem Post. Thursday's tragic security incident was an unfortunate reminder of one of the many difficulties Israel is facing. Footage from the incident clearly shows hundreds of Palestinians aggressively attacking the aid trucks, and Israeli forces did their best in a bad situation. The international community, even as it forgets Hamas' Oct. 7 atrocities, must remember that Israel didn't want this war, and it has been forced to take dramatic action to ensure its survival.
  • Pro-Palestine narrative, as provided by Middle East Eye. Israel has committed yet another terrible massacre in Gaza, only to be greeted with calls for an investigation and restraint. There already is more than enough evidence to suggest that Israeli forces fired indiscriminately into the crowds of terrified and hungry Palestinians barely managing to survive. Indeed, this massacre is another reminder of the lack of accountability Israel faces as it mercilessly butchers Palestinians.

Predictions