The U.S. mission to the United Nations said it "will not support actions that we believe undermine efforts to de-escalate" violence between Israel and Palestinian militants when asked on Wednesday about a French push for a Security Council resolution.

France circulated a draft text to council members on Wednesday, diplomats said.

The French draft text, seen by Reuters, demands an immediate cessation of hostilities and condemns "the indiscriminate firing of rockets against civilian areas" without laying blame. It urges protection of civilians and revival of the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians with the aim of creating two states.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said he hoped the 15-member body could vote as soon as possible. A resolution needs nine votes in favor and no vetoes by Russia, China, France, the United States or Britain to pass.

The United States has traditionally shielded its ally Israel at the United Nations. U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield told her U.N. counterparts on Tuesday that a "public pronouncement right now" by the council would not help calm the crisis. read more

When asked about the French push for a resolution, a spokesperson for the U.S. mission to the United Nations on Wednesday reaffirmed its position had not changed.

"We've been clear and consistent that we are focused on intensive diplomatic efforts underway to bring an end to the violence and that we will not support actions that we believe undermine efforts to de-escalate," the spokesperson said.

The Israel Defense Forces has laid some of the blame for the death and destruction experienced by the people of Gaza at the feet of Hamas, sharing a video of a misfiring militant rocket landing in the enclave.

In a tweet in the early hours of Thursday morning, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) posted a video accompanied by the comment, "The people of Gaza are endangered every time it happens."

This is not the first time the IDF has attempted to show the people of Gaza are endangered by Hamas' malfunctioning operations. On Monday, the IDF claimed 460 of Hamas's 3,150 rockets had misfired.

In a Wednesday op-ed, amid the continuing conflict between Israel and Palestine, University of Cincinnati professor emeritus Abraham Miller called on Israel "to ignore the international community" and "give war a chance."

After complaining about "Arabs" who "refuse to recognize the legitimate Jewish claim to the property" they call home in the Sheik Jarrah neighborhood, Miller likened Hamas to fleas and Israel to an infested dog.

"An intractable enemy must be destroyed. The cost of the war must be so great that Hamas will not be able to repeat its periodic foray of violence, its continual mobilization of wars of attrition," Miller declared, concluding, "If the dog is to survive, then the fleas must be destroyed in their earliest stages."

It's unclear if Miller was referring to Palestinian children or simply the early stages of a military operation when he wrote about destroying fleas in their "earliest" stage, but whatever his intention, his article sparked massive backlash on social media. Critics called it "insane," "genocidal," and "Nazi-esque."

"Why would Newsweek even publish this call for a massacre of Palestinian 'fleas' by this Israeli genocidal maniac?" questioned one person.

"They must retract this piece. Has anyone made a formal complaint cause if no one has, I must," another wrote.

The article was described by another Twitter user as a "damning indication of how severely we have dehumanized Palestinians in American public discourse."

© AP
Palestinian inspects the damage of a house destroyed by early morning Israeli airstrike
Gaza City 18/5/2021

Israeli airstrikes killed at least six people across the Gaza Strip. Israeli military widened its strikes on militant targets to the south amid continuing rocket fire from the Hamas-ruled territory. A warning missile struck the building in the southern town of Khan Younis five minutes before the airstrike, allowing everyone to escape - a scene of panic with men, women and children racing out of the building in various states of undress. 52 aircraft hit 40 underground targets over a period of 25 minutes. Gaza's Health Ministry said a woman was killed and eight people were wounded in those strikes.

Israeli attacks have damaged at least 18 hospitals and clinics and destroyed one health facility. Nearly half of all essential drugs have run out.

Three protesters were killed and more than 140 wounded in clashes with Israeli troops in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron. The Israeli army said two soldiers were wounded in Ramallah by gunshots to the leg. Hamas-run Al-Aqsa radio said one of its reporters was killed in an airstrike in Gaza City.

If you can stomach this, check out how Netanyahu lays it all out for his constituency:

Biden's administration noted growing international objections and emphasized that time is not on Israel's side. Reports detailed that Biden warned Netanyahu during the Monday call that "he could put off a lot of growing pressure from the international community," as well as from the US Congress, but that he could only do so for a limited amount of time.

Israel plans to keep on striking at high-value targets, including the commander of the Hamas terror group's Qassam Brigades, Mohammed Deif.

Gantz told US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin: "The IDF's military campaign will continue to the end of achieving long-term quiet."

Netanyahu said: "I am sure that all the enemies around us see how costly it is to attack us, and I am sure they will learn the lesson."

© Amir Levy/Getty Images
Israeli artillery unit as it fires near the border between Israel and the Gaza Strip

Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen warned that the limited amount of power available in Gaza could soon disappear. "I think the next thing we should do - and I'll raise this in the Cabinet - is to shut off electricity in Gaza."

Israel launched a wave of air strikes against targets in Gaza, including a six-story building that housed Islamic University libraries and educational centers. New bombardments would target two sections of tunnels that weren't hit during four previous nights of air assaults.

A Hamas mortar attack killed two Thai workers inside a packaging plant in southern Israel and also wounded 10 other people, four of them seriously.

© Unknown
Qatar Red Crescent sign

The office of the Qatar Red Crescent located in the Gaza Strip was hit by an Israeli airstrike, Director-General of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Robert Mardini added that no one working for the humanitarian organisation was harmed in the bombing as they were notified. However, several people who were near the building were killed.

The Israeli military reported a flurry of strikes on the Palestinian enclave on Tuesday night, targeting what it said were Hamas sites in Khan Younis, Gaza City, Zeitoun, Shuja'iyya and Rafah, including rocket launch installations, "research and development complexes," and the homes of several commanders. Palestinian return fire targeted the Hatzor, Hatzerim, Nevatim, Tel Nof, Palmachim and Ramon air force bases, though there were no reports of damage or injuries. Rockets were also fired toward the cities of Ashdod, Ashkelon and Beersheba.

UN warning that some 52,000 people have been displaced. Around 450 buildings have been destroyed or severely damaged by Israeli strikes, including six hospitals, nine health clinics and Gaza's primary Covid-19 testing and vaccination site.

While Israeli media previously reported that Hamas and Tel Aviv were nearing agreement on a ceasefire, a senior Hamas official, Izzat al-Rishq, later denied any such deal, saying that "no agreement or specific timings for the ceasefire were reached." He added that negotiations led by the UN, Egypt, Qatar and other nations were ongoing, however.

Meeting with the mayors of Lod and Ramla on Tuesday - cities with large Arab populations - Israel's police commissioner Kobi Shabtai said that "terrorists from both sides" were responsible for the bloodshed, enraging local right-wing leaders. "From my perspective, anyone who was involved in the riots in the mixed cities is a terrorist."

The ad initiative is an effort led by Israeli Bank HaPoalim, one of Israel's largest banks which recently gained new investments from BlackRock, a giant US asset management company. The idea has been picked up by the Clalit Health Fund, one of Israel's largest health service organizations. numerous rallies calling for justice have been held around the world, including in London and across several cities in the United States.

Meanwhile, Riyad Mansour, a Palestinian envoy to the United Nations, has asked for more humanitarian aid after the UN Security Council held its fourth emergency meeting about the Israeli bombings, with no official statement.

Israel opened the Kerem Shalom crossing, allowing humanitarian workers into Gaza.

© Youssef Massoud/Getty Images/KJN
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu • US President Joe Biden

Biden has faced increasing pressure, even from fellow Democrats, to take a more active and public role in brokering a ceasefire. Biden conveyed to the prime minister that he expected a significant de-escalation today on the path to a ceasefire. Latest calls and diplomatic efforts have increasingly been geared toward pressing Netanyahu on a timetable.

© Sarah Meyssonnier/AFP
French President Macron • Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah • Jordanian King Abdullah II
May 18, 2021

Macron's office publicly announced a draft resolution for a ceasefire following a trilateral meeting he held earlier today. "The three countries agreed on three simple elements: The shooting must stop, the time has come for a ceasefire and the UN Security Council must take up the issue." The core of the resolution's text stresses the urgent need for humanitarian assistance to Gaza. The French move surprised the US mission. The French resolution includes rhetoric and messaging similar to what has been heard from Biden on the matter in recent days in an effort to make it more difficult for the US to explain why it won't back the measure.

Israeli Ambassador to the UN Gilad Erdan on Sunday urged members to "unequivocally condemn Hamas," rather than calling on both sides to exercise restraint. China's UN ambassador Zhang Jun said we are supportive to all effort facilitating the ending of the crisis and the coming back of peace in the Middle East."

© Family photos/DCIP/NRC
Tala Ayman Abu al Auf • Rula Mohammad al Kawlak • Yara Mohammad al Kawlak

"They are now gone, killed with their families, buried with their dreams and the nightmares that haunted them. We call on Israel to stop this madness: children must be protected. Their homes must not be targets. Schools must not be targets. Spare these children and their families. Stop bombing them now."
...
Violence erupted at protests in the occupied West Bank, including in the city of Ramallah. Hundreds of Palestinians burned tyres and threw stones toward an Israeli military checkpoint. Troops fired tear gas canisters at the crowd and protesters picked up some of them and hurled them back. One protester was killed and more than 70 others wounded - including 16 by live fire - in clashes with Israeli troops in Ramallah, Bethlehem, Hebron and other cities, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The Israeli army said two soldiers were wounded by gunshots to the leg.

Hamas and Islamic Jihad say at least 20 of their fighters have been killed while Israel says the number is at least 160. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs says nearly 47,000 Palestinians have fled their homes during the airstrikes. He welcomed Israel's decision to open Gaza's main commercial crossing, allowing essential supplies to flow in for the first time since the conflict broke out on 10 May.

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