United States accused of complicit in Israel’s ‘war of genocide’ on Gaza

Palestinian group Hamas accused the US on Wednesday of being complicit in Israel's war of "genocide" on the Gaza Strip.

"The US administration and (President Joe) Biden are full partners in the Israeli occupation's genocidal war against our people in Gaza," senior group leader Ezzat al-Rishq said in a statement.

On Tuesday, Biden said that the ball is now "in the hands of Hamas" to reach a cease-fire deal with Israel in the Gaza Strip.

"It's in the hands of Hamas right now. Israelis have been cooperating. There's been a rational offer. We will know in a couple of days what's gonna happen. We need a cease-fire," Biden told reporters

Al-Rishq said the airdropping of humanitarian aid in Gaza "will not improve the US tarnished image."

US media reported on Wednesday that Washington has submitted a draft UN Security Council resolution to back an "immediate cease-fire of roughly six weeks in Gaza together with the release of all hostages."

The move comes as indirect talks in Egypt between Hamas and Israel have failed to make a breakthrough on a cease-fire deal in Gaza.

The US, Israel's main ally, has vetoed three draft resolutions presented by several countries in the UN Security Council in recent months for an "immediate cease-fire" in Gaza.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive, now in its 152th day, on the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack, which Tel Aviv said killed nearly 1,200 people.

More than 30,700 Palestinians have since been killed and over 72,000 others injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Israel has also imposed a crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip, leaving its population, particularly residents of northern Gaza, on the verge of starvation.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.