MOSCOW, November 13. /TASS/. The United States is seeking to force the United Nations Security Council to pass such a resolution that would make it possible for Israel to continue the mopping up operation in the Gaza Strip, the Russian foreign ministry said on Monday.

"The US is categorically seeking to impose on the delegations to the UN Security Council such a resolution that would allow Israel to continue its military mopping up operation in the Gaza Strip, raid with the use of force in the West Bank and arbitrary attacks on Lebanon and Syria. For a show, it suggests including calls for what they call pauses, which are not backed by any appropriate mechanisms, and, hence, they will not result in the cessation of hostilities," the ministry said. "This is where the United States’ humanitarian gestures end, giving way to aggressive positions on fighting terrorism (like it was in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria) and the right to self-defense."

As a result, according to the ministry, despite the unanimous UN calls for an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire," that would put an end to this inhumane collective punishment, sufferings of children, women and the elder, the US’ actions stand in the way of implementing these calls.

"The UN Security Council, as a main body tasked to maintain international peace and security, is called to pass a relevant resolution. But the Security Council has been failing to deliver on its direct mandate and is still paralyzed due to the position of just one country - the United States," it stressed.

Tensions flared up again in the Middle East on October 7 after militants from the Gaza Strip-based radical Palestinian group Hamas launched a surprise incursion on Israeli territory, killing many Israeli kibbutz residents living near the Gaza border and abducting more than 200 Israelis, including women, children and the elderly. Hamas described its attack as a response to Israeli authorities’ aggressive actions against the Al-Aqsa Mosque on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem’s Old City. Israel declared a total blockade of the Gaza Strip and launched bombardments of the enclave and some areas in Lebanon and Syria, as well as a ground operation against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Clashes are also reported in the West Bank.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesman Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said earlier that the IDF was expanding its ground operation in Gaza.