The United States - a veto-wielding power on the council - has said it does not currently support further action by the 15-member body on the conflict between its ally Israel and Islamist militant group Hamas in Gaza, a Palestinian enclave.
The council last month called for pauses in fighting to allow aid access.
The US and Israel oppose a ceasefire because they believe it would only benefit Hamas.
The US instead supports pauses in fighting to protect civilians and allow the release of hostages taken by Hamas in a deadly October 7 attack on Israel.
The United Nations Security Council is due to vote on a resolution from the United Arab Emirates. (EPA PHOTO)
"While the United States strongly supports a durable peace, in which both Israelis and Palestinians can live in peace and security, we do not support calls for an immediate ceasefire," deputy US ambassador to the UN Robert Wood told the council.
"This would only plant the seeds for the next war because Hamas has no desire to see a durable peace," he said.
The council was due to vote on a resolution drafted by the United Arab Emirates at 5.30pm EDT on Friday (9.30am on Saturday AEDT) - just after Blinken meets in Washington DC with ministers from Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian Authority and Turkey.
"Today this council will vote, it will have an opportunity to respond to the deafening calls across the world to bring this violence to an end," deputy UAE ambassador to the UN Mohamed Abushahab told the council.
To be adopted, a Security Council resolution needs at least nine votes in favour and no vetoes by the five permanent members - the United States, Russia, China, France or the United Kingdom.
While the vote was delayed, the council still convened on Friday morning to hear a briefing by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres after he made a rare move on Wednesday to formally warn of a global threat from the war.
"I urge the council to spare no effort to push for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire, for the protection of civilians and for the urgent delivery of lifesaving aid," Guterres said.
"The eyes of the world – and the eyes of history – are watching. Time to act." — UN Web TV (@UNWebTV) @antonioguterresWatch Security Council on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question: https://t.co/XaSTmxOwNxAvailable in: لعربية 中文 English Français Русский Español pic.twitter.com/RGjtKLKrRyDecember 8, 2023
Israel's UN ambassador Gilad Erdan said there had been a ceasefire that was broken by Hamas on October 7.
"The irony is that regional stability and the security of both Israelis and Gazans can only be achieved once Hamas is eliminated, not one minute before," Erdan said.
"So the true path to ensure peace is only through supporting Israel's mission - absolutely not to call for a ceasefire."
Israel sharply stepped up strikes on the Gaza Strip on Friday, pounding the length of the Palestinian enclave and killing hundreds.
The Israeli military said it had struck more than 450 targets in Gaza from land, sea and air over the past 24 hours - the most since a truce collapsed last week and about double the daily figures typically reported since then.
With most Gazans displaced and unable to access any aid, hospitals overrun and food running out, the main UN agency there said society was "on the verge of a full-blown collapse" and its ability to protect people there was "reducing fast".
Residents and the Israeli military both reported intensified fighting in both northern areas, where Israel had previously said its troops had largely completed their tasks last month, and in the south where they mounted a new assault this week.
Gaza's health ministry reported 350 people killed on Thursday, bringing the death toll from Israel's two-month campaign in Gaza to 17,487, with thousands more missing and presumed buried under rubble.
More strikes were reported on Friday morning in Khan Younis in the south, the Nusseirat camp in the centre and Gaza City in the north.
Israel's military said 94 Israeli soldiers had been killed fighting in Gaza since its ground invasion of the enclave began.
An Israeli commander, Brigadier General Dan Goldfuss, said in a video message recorded in Khan Younis that his forces were fighting house to house and "shaft to shaft," a reference to tunnel shafts.
