The U.N. Security Council has failed to agree on any action on the fighting between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
Kuwaiti Ambassador Mansour Al-Otaibi told reporters Tuesday that "we were not able to find a solution to the situation in Gaza" because of divisions in the most powerful U.N. body.
Al-Otaibi said that "the majority of member states raised the issue that the council should do something, and one of the issues that was introduced is that the Security Council should consider going on a visit to the occupied territories."
Council diplomats said Swedish Ambassador Olof Skoog raised the idea of a trip, which was endorsed by Russia and Britain.
During this week's flare-up between Israel and the terrorist group ruling Gaza, Hamas fired over 400 projectiles at Israeli communities in less than 36 hours. Israel pounded Gaza in response, destroying over 160 Hamas assets in Gaza.
This was the fiercest round of violence between the two foes since their last war, in 2014. Egypt was able to eventually broker a tentative cease-fire, which came into force on Tuesday evening.
Alarmed by the bloodshed, the United Nations convened a closed session on the escalation on Tuesday.
"We stick to the principles that we have established decade after decade in order to support the two-state solution that we are more than ever attached to," French U.N. Ambassador Francois Delattre said.
Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Danny Danon demanded the council condemn Hamas.
"Certain morally bankrupt members of the Security Council will jump here to blame Israel. Other members that claim to be objective, will call for restraint on both sides. Let me be clear about that – there is no such thing.
"There is Hamas, which attacks and fired over 460 missiles at civilians, and there is Israel, which protects its people. The Security Council must only condemn Hamas today for its aggressive assault on civilians and finally, finally designate it a terrorist organization," he said.
