US 'responsible for bloodshed' of Gaza children after UN veto: Abbas

Mourners stand by shrouded bodies of Palestinians killed following Israeli strikes at Khan Yunis in southern Gaza. (Photo/AFP)

Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas has said the United States was "responsible for the bloodshed" of children in Gaza after Washington vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the besieged coastal enclave.

"The President has described the American position as aggressive and immoral, a blatant violation of all humanitarian values and principles, and holds the United States responsible for the bloodshed of Palestinian children, women, and elderly in Gaza" due to its support for Israel, said a statement from Abbas's office.

Washington's veto at a special meeting of the Security Council on Friday scuttled growing efforts towards an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in the territory led by UN chief Antonio Guterres and Arab nations.

American envoy Robert Wood said the resolution was "divorced from reality" and "would have not moved the needle forward on the ground".

Israel praised the veto, but the resolution's sponsor, the United Arab Emirates, said it was "deeply disappointed" by the result.

Abbas said on Saturday that "US policy makes it complicit in the crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and war crimes committed by the Israeli occupation forces against Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, and Jerusalem".

Guterres had convened the emergency meeting after weeks of fighting left nearly 17,500 people dead in Gaza, most of them women and children, according to the latest toll from the Palestinian health ministry in the coastal enclave.

On the Israeli side, an estimated 1,200 people have been killed since October 7. Another 240 were taken hostage, Israeli officials say.

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Source: TRT