ISTANBUL 

China held the US responsible for the failure to reach a cease-fire in Gaza as the Israeli war on the besieged Palestinian enclave nears one year.

“Had the US not shielded one side time and again, multiple resolutions of this council would not have been flagrantly rejected and defied,” Chinese Ambassador Geng Shuang told the UN Security Council on Monday.

Noting that the Israeli war on Gaza that began on Oct. 07 last year was nearing one year, Geng said: “Over the past year, despite strong joint international calls for a cease-fire and the cessation of killings, Israel has not halted its military operations, which have led to the death of over 41,000 Palestinian civilians. This is alarming. This is past belief.”

The Security Council was holding a briefing on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, according to a statement by the Chinese diplomatic mission to the UN.

Reminding the Security Council of its “primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security,” the Chinese diplomat questioned: “Why has it been unable to stop this human tragedy, the worst of its kind to this day?”

“As the analysis points out, had the United States not stood in the way on all those occasions, the council could have adopted a resolution demanding a cease-fire early on after the conflict erupted,” Geng observed.

Urging the US to “show a responsible attitude,” Geng called on Washington to “use the significant influence it holds over the party, and take tangible actions to push Israel to cease its military operations without delay, as demanded by the council resolutions, to give the long-suffering Palestinian people a chance to live.”

“China supports further actions on the part of this council to put out the flames of war, mitigate the humanitarian disaster, and bring peace to the region as soon as possible,” said Geng.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip following an attack by the Palestinian group Hamas last Oct. 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

More than 41,200 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed and over 95,400 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.