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

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas said Saturday the United States was "responsible for the bloodshed" of children in Gaza after it vetoed a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in the territory.

"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 the 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 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 the Gaza Strip, most of them women and children, according to the latest toll from the Hamas-run health ministry.

The war in the territory was triggered by Hamas's bloody surprise attack on Israel on October 7, which killed 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and saw another 240 taken hostage, Israeli officials say.