The UN Security Council has held an emergency meeting to discuss the attacks on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas, but made little progress.

The closed-door meeting took place on Sunday. Diplomatic sources said most participants expressed criticism and concern over Hamas' attacks against citizens and urged de-escalation of the situation.

But council members reportedly failed to agree on specific measures and decided to continue discussions.

The United Arab Emirates' UN Ambassador Lana Nusseibeh told reporters that the meeting achieved little progress.

She said what council members need to lead to now is a ceasefire and a resumption of negotiations, but "we're not at that state yet."

Deputy US Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood made clear the Biden administration's position of supporting Israel's operations. He said what needs to be focused now is the "condemnation of these brutal terrorist attacks."

Before the council meeting, China's UN Ambassador Zhang Jun touched on the need for a ceasefire by both parties. Zhang said, "What's really important is to prevent the further escalation of the situation and further casualties of civilians."