The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) is scheduled to hold a meeting on Thursday to discuss the ongoing escalation between Israel and the besieged Gaza Strip, where the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas is located.

Niger and Algeria requested on Monday the 193-member UN body meet publicly "in light of the gravity of the situation and its rapid deterioration," as conflict enters its second week.

This comes as the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met publicly for the first time on Sunday over the flare-up in the conflict between Israel and Palestinians.

However, the United States, the most important ally of the regime in Israel, prevented the council from issuing a unified statement on the situation.

Throughout the years, the US has protected Israel from pressure at the UN Security Council and elsewhere. Since the beginning of the current war on Gaza, Washington has insisted that Israel is entitled to defend itself.

Meanwhile, Israel has repeatedly rejected international calls for a ceasefire and said it will continue to bomb Gaza as part of its right to defend itself.

The asymmetrical Gaza war was triggered by repeated acts of violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank beginning last month and continuing to this day.

Since the commencement of the holy month of Ramadan, Israeli forces and settlers have harassed Palestinian worshipers at al-Aqsa Mosque. The regime’s military also forced Palestinians out of their homes in the occupied east Jerusalem al-Quds neighborhood of Sheikh Jarrah to add to its illegal settlements.

Israel started the escalation against the coastal sliver after Gazans rose up in protest against its serious violations in the nearby Israeli-occupied territory of the West Bank, especially the holy city of al-Quds Jerusalem.

Since last Monday, the Israeli military has been launching large-scale airstrikes across Gaza, razing homes and civilian infrastructure to the ground. The regime’s artillery and tanks have also been targeting the blockaded coastal enclave.

So far, the Israeli bombardments have killed at least 201 Palestinians, including 58 children and 34 women.

The Gaza-based resistance front has retaliated by launching hundreds of rockets into the occupied territories in retaliation for both the violations targeting al-Quds and the bloodletting that has hit Gaza.