With the world body's most powerful arm deadlocked, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres appealed for an immediate halt to the fighting in Gaza and the release of all hostages.
After a meeting of senior U.N. leaders, Guterres appeared before a regular press briefing in New York on Monday to condemn the "abhorrent attacks" by the Palestinian militant group Hamas and others against Israeli towns and villages.
A day earlier, an emergency session of the U.N. Security Council failed to reach agreement on a joint statement condemning the outbreak of war in Gaza. At least 800 Israelis were killed and more than 2,500 others injured in the attacks, while Israel's retaliatory airstrikes in Gaza killed 500 Palestinians and injured 3,000.
Guterres said more than 100 Israeli military personnel and civilians, including women, children and the elderly, also were reported captured by armed groups in Gaza and Israel.
"I recognize the legitimate grievances of the Palestinian people. But nothing can justify these acts of terror and the killing, maiming and abduction of civilians," he said. "Civilians must be respected and protected at all times. Civilian infrastructure must never be a target."
After Hamas' surprise attacks – at least 260 bodies were recovered at the site of a music festival near the border with Gaza – Israel declared war and retaliated with air strikes across Gaza.
With Israel ordering a siege of Gaza on Monday, Guterres pointed to reports of Israeli missiles striking health facilities, multi-storied residential towers, a mosque and two schools sheltering displaced families in Gaza.
The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said a school sheltering 225 people was directly hit and severely damaged but no casualties were recorded among the displaced.
"Some 137,000 people are currently sheltering in UNRWA facilities – with the number increasing as heavy shelling and airstrikes continue," Guterres said.
"I am deeply distressed by today’s announcement that Israel will initiate a complete siege of the Gaza Strip, nothing allowed in – no electricity, food, or fuel," he said. "The humanitarian situation in Gaza was extremely dire before these hostilities; now it will only deteriorate exponentially."
The 15-nation Security Council met in a closed-door session on Sunday for an hour and a half to hear from the U.N.'s Middle East envoy Tor Wennesland.
“I vehemently condemn this morning’s multi-front assault against Israeli towns and cities near the Gaza Strip, and barrage of rockets reaching across central Israel by Hamas militants," said Wennesland.
"These events have resulted in horrific scenes of violence and many Israeli fatalities and injuries, with many believed to be kidnapped inside the Strip," he said. "This is a dangerous precipice and I appeal to all to pull back from the brink.”
Israel's main ally, the United States, demanded that the entire council strongly condemn Hamas' attacks. That did not occur because the statement had to be approved by consensus.
"This was terrorism, plain and simple, and that kind of thing cannot be allowed to stand," U.S. Ambassador Robert Wood told reporters outside the council's chambers. "This is not about a statement, it's about condemnation."
UNRWA provides services to 1.4 million Palestine refugees, including food aid to nearly 1.2 million, across Gaza. It said it was sheltering 73,538 internally displaced people in 64 of its schools in all areas of Gaza; all but 19 of the schools double as emergency shelters.
"What's really important is to prevent the further escalation of the situation – for casualties of civilians," China's U.N. Ambassador Zhang Jun told reporters.
"What's also important is to come back to the two-state solution and the peace process," he said. "We are in favor of issuing a statement, because that is a very worrying situation and it's important for the Security Council to have its voice heard. We condemn all attacks against the civilians."
'End this vicious circle'
Israeli forces' counterattack in Gaza killed at least 493 people, including dozens of children, and injured about 2,700 others, the Gaza Health Ministry said.
"Our people have endured one deadly year after another," Palestine's U.N. Ambassador Riyad Mansour told reporters as he called out the council's inaction due to a stalemate between its major powers. Gaza's 2.3 million inhabitants have been ruled by Hamas since it overran the territory in 2007.
"This is not a time to let Israel double down on its terrible choices," said Mansour, who represents the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority, a political rival to Hamas. "This is a time to tell Israel it needs to change course, that there is a path to peace where neither Palestinians nor Israelis are killed."
Israel's U.N. Ambassador Gilad Erdan told reporters his nation suffered "an unprecedented attack and the number of casualties is catastrophic. Truly unfathomable."
Thousands of rockets fired by Hamas into Israel and hundreds of Hamas troops killed "anything that moved," he said. "As if they were stomping on insects."
"These are war crimes, blatant document war crimes, but tragically the abominations don't end here," he added.
Guterres said on Monday that even in these worst of times it's vital to look to the long-term horizon and avoid "irreversible action that would embolden extremists and doom any prospects for lasting peace." He noted the war grew out of a long-standing conflict with a 56-year occupation and no political end in sight.
"It’s time to end this vicious circle of bloodshed, hatred and polarization," he said. "Israel must see its legitimate needs for security materialized – and Palestinians must see a clear perspective for the establishment of their own state realized."
This story has been updated with additional details.
