The United States blocked a UN Security Council statement on Saturday calling for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.

US Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff: “This Council has spoken on many times about the concerns we had about Hamas’s military attacks on Israel. The charter of this organization respects the right of every member state to exercise its self-defense, and Israel’s self-defense is not negotiable.”

The United Nations estimates Israeli forces have now killed at least 100 Palestinian civilians. Earlier today, a navy shelling off the coast of Gaza killed a Palestinian family of seven inside the Shati refugee camp. Israel says it is not targeting civilians, only seeking to halt rocket fire from Hamas militants. Despite ten days of attacks, Hamas fighters are continuing to fire rockets into Israel. On Sunday, New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg was touring Sderot, Israel, when he had to be taken into a bomb shelter due to a possible rocket attack. Bloomberg and New York Police Chief Ray Kelly traveled to Israel to express their support for Israel’s attack on Gaza.