Smoke rises following an Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip, as seen from southern Israel, Dec 7, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

RAMALLAH/GAZA/UNITED NATIONS - The Palestinian Authority and Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) slammed on Saturday the US veto on a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

The resolution failed to pass at a Security Council emergency meeting held late Friday after the United States cast a veto and Britain abstained, while the other 13 UNSC members voted in favor of the proposal handed in by the UAE and backed by more than 90 UN member states.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced on Saturday the US position as "aggressive and immoral, and a blatant violation of all humanitarian values and principles," while thanking those member states that favor the resolution for "siding with justice, peace and human ethics"

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas denounced on Saturday the US position as "aggressive and immoral, and a blatant violation of all humanitarian values and principles," while thanking those member states that favor the resolution for "siding with justice, peace and human ethics."

In a statement, he said the move made the United States complicit with "war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, and Jerusalem."

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh said in a statement on Saturday that the veto was "a disgrace and a new license for the occupying state to continue killing, destroying and displacing."

The veto "reveals the lie of concern for the lives of civilians, and that what happened is an insult to the free people of the world and a violation of the values of truth, justice, freedom, human rights, and all countries calling for human rights," he noted.

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Shtayyeh called on UN members to continue their efforts to stop the Israeli "aggression" and bring in food, medicine and fuel aid and restore the lifeline to the Gaza Strip that has been cut off for more than two months.

The Gaza-ruling Palestinian faction, Hamas, which Israel has announced at war with, described the US administration as an "accomplice in the killing of the Palestinian people, through its political and military support for Israel."

The movement thanked the countries that voted in favor of the draft resolution, calling on the international community to take serious and concrete steps to "stop the occupation's massacres" in Gaza.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had invoked Article 99 of the UN Charter to urge the organization's most powerful body to call for a ceasefire.

Speaking after the vote, US deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Robert Wood said the resolution was "rushed" and "unrealistic"

Article 99 states, "The secretary general may bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security."

The text of the resolution called for an immediate halt of fighting between Hamas and Israel and the protection of both Israeli and Palestinian civilians under international humanitarian law. It also demanded the "immediate and unconditional release of all hostages."

Palestine's ambassador to the United Nations, Riyad Mansour, told the council that the result of the vote was "disastrous," adding: "Millions of Palestinian lives hang in the balance. Every single one of them is sacred, worth saving."

He stated that it was "beyond regrettable" that the Security Council was hindered from fulfilling its duties -- via a newly adopted resolution -- amidst the crisis.

Rather than enabling the council to execute its charge by at least issuing a definitive appeal, after two months of mass killings and atrocities, "the war criminals are given more time to perpetrate their crimes," Mansour remarked.

"How can this be justified? How can anyone justify the slaughter of an entire people?" he added.

Palestinians displaced by the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip gather at a tent camp, in Rafah, southern Gaza strip, Dec 4, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

According to the UN chief, more than 17,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since the start of Israel's military operations, including more than 4,000 women and 7,000 children

Speaking after the vote, US deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Robert Wood said the resolution was "rushed" and "unrealistic."

Explaining Britain's abstention from the draft resolution, Barbara Woodward, the British permanent representative to the United Nations, said her country could not vote in favor of a resolution that fails to condemn the atrocities Hamas committed on innocent Israeli civilians on Oct 7.

French permanent representative to the United Nations Nicolas de Riviere said the UN chief was correct to raise the alarm over the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Gaza.

"It is for this reason that France voted in favor of this resolution and it is for that reason that we plead for an immediate and lasting humanitarian truce," he added.

At the Security Council's emergency meeting Friday morning on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question, Guterres issued a stark warning that "the conditions for the effective delivery of humanitarian aid no longer exist."

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Palestinians sit by the building of the Al-Nadi family destroyed in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip in Nusseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Dec 8, 2023. (PHOTO / AP)

According to the UN chief, more than 17,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since the start of Israel's military operations, including more than 4,000 women and 7,000 children. Tens of thousands are reported to have been injured, and many are missing, presumably under the rubble.

Guterres also warned that Gazans are running out of food. He cited the World Food Programme as saying that there is "a serious risk of starvation and famine."

The top UN official also warned that "Gaza's health system is collapsing while needs are escalating."

"The eyes of the world -- and the eyes of history -- are watching," demanding that the international community "do everything possible" to end the ordeal of the people of Gaza, he said.