The United States vetoed the UN Security Council resolution for a ceasefire in Gaza

Afghan Voice Agency (AVA): Clashes intensified on Friday and the Palestinian death toll rose as Israel bombards northern and southern Gaza in the broadest phase of its two-month war against Hamas.

Hours before the veto of the Security Council resolution, which with the support of the majority of the members of this council called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, Antonio Guterres, the Secretary General of the United Nations, announced that no place in Gaza is safe for civilians.

The vote left Washington diplomatically isolated in the 15-member council. Thirteen members voted in favor of the draft resolution presented by the United Arab Emirates, while Britain abstained.

"We do not support this resolution's call for an unstable ceasefire that will only sow the seeds for the next war," Robert Wood, the US deputy ambassador to the United Nations, told the council.

The United States and Israel oppose the ceasefire, saying it only benefits Hamas. Israel has announced that it will destroy it in response to the deadly attacks by Hamas on October 7.

Instead, Washington supports "pauses" such as a seven-day ceasefire that led to the release of some prisoners by Hamas and an increase in the flow of humanitarian aid. This agreement ended on December 1.

Riyad Mansour, Palestine's representative to the United Nations, told the Security Council that the vote meant "the lives of millions of Palestinians are at risk."

Ezzat al-Rashq, a member of the political office of Hamas, condemned the US veto and called it "inhumane".

Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, said in a statement: "A ceasefire will only be possible with the return of all prisoners and the destruction of Hamas."