The United Nations Security Council convened an emergency meeting behind closed doors, with the United States urging all 15 members to strongly condemn the "heinous terrorist attacks committed by Hamas." However, the Security Council failed to achieve the unanimity needed for a joint statement.

U.S. Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said that "a good number of countries" did condemn the Hamas attack, but not all council members did so. He hinted that one of the members might have been Russia. Russia's U.N. Ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, disputed this claim, stating that Russia condemns all attacks on civilians and emphasized the importance of stopping the fighting immediately and resuming meaningful negotiations.