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On December 9, the Palestinian government and many countries expressed concern that the conflict between Hamas and Israel will continue to worsen, after the US vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolution calling for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas expressed his opposition to the US decision and expressed concern that the number of Palestinian children, women and elderly people killed in the Gaza Strip would continue to rise.
Meanwhile, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh also gave a similar response and called on UN Security Council member countries to continue to prevent further conflict in Gaza, find ways to transport relief goods and restore life in this territory.
On the same day, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian warned of the risk of the situation in the Middle East "exploding uncontrollably" following the US move.
In a phone call with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Mr. Abdollahian said the regional situation is at risk of becoming uncontrollable if the US continues to support the Israeli government and the conflict between Israel and Hamas continues.
Foreign Minister Abdollahian also called for the immediate opening of the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt to allow humanitarian aid into the blockaded territory.
In addition, Mr. Abdollahian said that Secretary-General Guterres' decision on December 6 to invoke Article 99 of the UN Charter was "a courageous act to maintain international peace and security".
Meanwhile, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan also voiced his disagreement with the UN Security Council's failure to pass a resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza due to the US vote to reject it, even though the proposal received support from the majority of member countries.
The statements came as Israel expanded its air strikes and attacks on the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said that in the past 24 hours, its forces had attacked more than 450 targets in the Gaza Strip from land, air and sea - the most since the humanitarian ceasefire between Israel and Hamas collapsed last week, and more than twice as many as on a normal day.
The strikes were carried out in both northern Gaza – an area Israel declared completed last month – and the south, where the offensive was expanded this week.
According to figures from Gaza health authorities, 350 people were killed on December 7 alone, and as of December 8, the total number of victims in the Gaza Strip was 17,487 while thousands of people are still missing or believed to be buried under the rubble. Meanwhile, Israel said 94 of its soldiers were killed in clashes with Hamas.
Since the conflict broke out on October 7, Israel has had more than 1,200 people killed and hundreds taken hostage by Hamas.
According to VNA