UN fails to agree on statement about Gaza situation

New York: The UN Security Council has failed to produce a statement about the humanitarian situation in Gaza after a disagreement between the US and Libya about the wording.

The statement would have called for an end to the hostilities, but fell down after Libya pushed for more criticism of Israel.

After eight days of negotiation, Libya's ambassador put the blame at the door of the US for rejecting the changes proposed by Arab nations.

It had been hoped a statement would be made by the Security Council calling for Israel to end the blockade and for the cessation of rocket fire from Gaza.

There had been consensus from 14 of the 15 countries, but Libya then made a request on Monday to change the language.

The move was rejected by the US and the statement was abandoned on Tuesday night.