The United States vetoed a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution on Tuesday calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, with Israel continuing to bombard the territory as concern grew about the growing humanitarian crisis.
Global powers trying to navigate a way out of the spiralling crisis have come up short, with so-far fruitless push by mediators to reach a truce, and two rival ceasefire proposals put forward at the UN.
On Tuesday, Washington vetoed the first proposal, drafted by Algeria, which demanded an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and "unconditional" release of all hostages kidnapped in the October 7 resistance campaign.
Washington's ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, called the vote "wishful and irresponsible," saying it would put "sensitive negotiations in jeopardy."
With US President Joe Biden facing increasing pressure to dial down support for Israel, Washington has put forward an alternative draft resolution on Gaza.
That text, seen by AFP, emphasizes "support for a temporary ceasefire in Gaza as soon as practicable" and expresses concern for Rafah.
According to a diplomatic source, the draft stands little chance of being adopted in its current form and risks a Russian veto.
As diplomatic powers wrangled, Israel continued to hit Gaza with air strikes and ground combat that killed a total of 103 Palestinians in the past 24 hours, its health ministry said.
Israel's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 29,195 people, mostly women and children, according to the latest count by the territory's health ministry.
The United Nations has repeatedly sounded alarm over the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza and warned food shortages could lead to an "explosion" of preventable child deaths.
Despite having only just re-started much-needed deliveries into the hard-hit north, the UN's food program said on Tuesday it had been forced to stop after having "faced complete chaos and violence due to the collapse of civil order."
The World Food Program (WFP) resumed deliveries on Sunday but its convoy was met with gunfire, violence, looting, people trying to climb onto the vans, and a truck driver was beaten, it said on Tuesday.
The WFP acknowledged that halting deliveries meant the situation "will deteriorate further and more people risk dying of hunger."
More than four months of relentless fighting have flattened much of the coastal territory, pushed 2.2 million people to the brink of famine and displaced three-quarters of the population, according to UN estimates.
The scarcity of food and safe water has triggered a steep rise in malnutrition, the UN children's fund warned on Monday, with one in six children in northern Gaza now acutely malnourished.
