After the United States vetoed a UN Security Council resolution demanding a ceasefire in the Gaza war, Israel strongly rejected calls for a truce.
This "absurd notion of a ceasefire" was constantly being thrown around within the Security Council and the UN General Assembly as if it was "a silver bullet, a magical solution to all of the region's problems," Israel's ambassador to the United Nations, Gilad Erdan, told the most powerful UN body.
"A ceasefire today means immunity for baby killers and rapists. It's an easy way to make this problem an issue for another day," he said.
"Hamas is not going to even read your resolutions."
The US, Israel's most important ally, earlier vetoed a resolution tabled by Council member Algeria calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
Given concerns about a possible major Israeli offensive on the crowded city of Rafah in southern Gaza, the proposal was widely supported by 13 of the 15 council members. Britain abstained.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield had declared ahead of time that the US would once again use its veto power in the Security Council should a vote be held.
