U.S. vetoes ceasefire demand as UN secretary general warns Gaza 'at breaking point'

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The United States on Friday vetoed a United Nations Security Council demand for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas in Gaza, diplomatically isolating Washington as it shields its ally.

Thirteen members voted in favour of a brief draft resolution, put forward by the United Arab Emirates, while Britain abstained. The vote came after UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres made a rare move on Wednesday to formally warn the 15-member council of a global threat from the two-month long war.

"What is the message we are sending Palestinians if we cannot unite behind a call to halt the relentless bombardment of Gaza?" Deputy U.A.E. UN Ambassador Mohamed Abushahab asked the council.

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The U.S. and Israel oppose a ceasefire because they believe it would only benefit Hamas. Washington instead supports pauses in fighting to protect civilians and allow the release of hostages taken by Hamas in a deadly Oct. 7 attack on Israel.

Deputy U.S. Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the council that the draft resolution was an imbalanced text "that was divorced from reality, that would not move the needle forward on the ground in any concrete way."

"Although the United States strongly supports a durable peace in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support this resolution's call for an unsustainable ceasefire that will only plant the seeds for the next war," said Wood.

The U.S. had offered substantial amendments to the draft resolution, including a condemnation of the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7.

Britain's UN Ambassador Barbara Woodward said her country abstained because there was no condemnation of Hamas.

"Israel needs to be able to address the threat posed by Hamas and it needs to do so in a manner that abides by international humanitarian law so that such attack can never be carried out again," she told the council.

Hamas strongly criticized the U.S. veto in a statement issued late Friday night, saying the it considers Washington's move "unethical and inhumane."

Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan said in a statement: "A ceasefire will be possible only with the return of all the hostages and the destruction of Hamas."

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The resolution was backed by Arab and Islamic nations,Guterres and many other countries.

Guterres told the emergency meeting of the Security Council on Friday that he invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter for the first time since 1971 because "there is a high risk of the total collapse of the humanitarian support system in Gaza." That article allows a UN chief to raise threats he sees to international peace and security.

He warned that the Gaza Strip is at "a breaking point" and desperate people are at serious risk of starvation. He said the UN anticipates this would result in "a complete breakdown of public order and increased pressure for mass displacement into Egypt."

Guterres told the Security Council that Hamas' brutality against Israelis on Oct. 7 "can never justify the collective punishment of the Palestinian people."

He stressed that "while indiscriminate rocket fire by Hamas into Israel, and the use of civilians as human shields, are in contravention of the laws of war, such conduct does not absolve Israel of its own violations."

Israel says hundreds of targets struck

The United States kept up pressure on Israel to do more to protect Palestinian civilians during a fierce offensive against Hamas militants across Gaza, despite its security council resolution veto.

Desperate Palestinians fleeing Israel's expanding ground offensive crowded into an ever-shrinking area of the Gaza Strip as the Israel-Hamas war entered its third month Friday.

The Israeli army said Friday that over the past day the military had struck about 450 targets in the Gaza Strip by air, sea and ground, signalling the continued intensity of its campaign.

"Airstrikes and random artillery shelling have continued intensely since last night until this morning," said Hassan Al Najjar, a journalist speaking by phone from northern Gaza.

Residents and the Israeli military both reported intensified fighting in both northern areas, where Israel had previously said its troops had largely completed their tasks last month, as well as in the south where they launched a new assault this week.

A strike shattered a residential building in Nuseirat camp, killing at least 21 people, according to officials at the nearby hospital. Following the blast, residents were seen digging beneath the rubble, looking for survivors and belongings that could be unearthed.

Israel insists it must crush the military capabilities of Hamas, which rules Gaza, and remove it from power following the group's Oct. 7 attack. Hamas has also launched rockets at Israel since Oct. 7.

In the first stage of the war, Israel's air and ground campaign focused on the northern half of Gaza, leading hundreds of thousands of residents to flee south. Intense battles continued in parts of the north in recent days, while troops there have rounded up hundreds of Palestinian men.

Aid groups are severely limited by fighting and restrictions placed by the military. The United Nations estimates 1.9 million people have been displaced and new military evacuation orders are squeezing people into ever-smaller areas. Most lack food, water and medicine.

Around 1,200 people have died on the Israeli side,  including several Canadians, mainly civilians killed during Hamas' Oct. 7 attack that triggered the war, according to Israel figures. Israel has said some 138 hostages remain after some were freed during a nearly week-long truce that ended Dec. 1.

The Health Ministry in Gaza said the death toll in the territory has surpassed 17,400, with more than 46,000 wounded. The Hamas-run ministry, deemed credible by the UN, does not differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths, but said 70 per cent of the dead were women and children.