Israel acted with restraint in Gaza: US ambassador to UN
UN Security Council emergency meeting underway to discuss Gaza violence
May 15, 2018
NEW YORK: The US ambassador to the United Nations on Tuesday told an emergency Security Council meeting on the violence in Gaza, that ally Israel had acted with restraint in the face of provocation from Hamas.
The UNSC meeting on the violence along the border between Israel and Gaza began with a moment of silence for the more than 60 Palestinians martyred by Israeli forces on Monday, the bloodiest day there since a 2014 war.
"No country in this chamber would act with more restraint than Israel has," Nikki Haley told the Security Council.
"In fact, the records of several countries here today suggest they would be much less restrained," she said, a day after Israeli forces martyred 60 Palestinians in Gaza and injured nearly 2,800.
The UK reiterated that an independent investigation over the Gaza killings be called. It reiterated support for a two-state solution with Jerusalem as the shared capital.
Global condemnations pour in
Palestinians gathered on Tuesday for fresh protests along the Gaza border, a day after Israeli forces killed dozens there as the US embassy opened in Jerusalem on what was the conflict’s bloodiest day in years.
Global condemnations poured in after the death toll reached 60.
Palestinians on Tuesday marked the Nakba, or "catastrophe", commemorating the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled in the 1948 war surrounding Israel’s creation.
It came a day after the United States transferred its Israel embassy from Tel Aviv to the disputed city of Jerusalem in a move that infuriated the Palestinians and was widely condemned.
Most of the 60 Gazans martyred Monday were shot by Israeli snipers, Gaza’s health ministry said.
The toll included a baby who died from tear gas inhalation along with eight children under the age of 16, the ministry said.
At least 2,400 others were wounded in the bloodiest day in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict since the 2014 Gaza war.
Some funerals were held on Monday, while others were taking place Tuesday.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more updates are received.
