The Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip continued late into the night on Friday, with reports of sustained air strikes and bombardments. An Israeli air strike on the Nuseirat refugee camp killed at least 18 people, according to Palestinian media. People in another camp, Bureij, were ordered by Israel’s army to move south as it continued its ground offensive.
In New York, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution urging more humanitarian aid for Gaza. However, the motion fell short of calling for an immediate ceasefire in the war. Wafa, the official Palestinian news agency, said at least 18 people died and dozens were injured in an air strike on a house in Nuseirat, in central Gaza. An air strike also destroyed a water treatment plant in Jabalia, northern Gaza, it added.
Residents of Bureij, which is close to Nuseirat, were ordered to “leave immediately for their own security” and move south towards the city of Deir al-Balah. “Where should we go to?” Ziad, a medic and father of six, told Reuters news agency by phone. “There is no safe place.” Another of those displaced, Walaa al-Medini, said she had been injured in a strike on her home in Gaza City and used a wheelchair. “This is not a life: no water, no food, nothing,” she told AFP news agency.
At the same time, the UN’s World Food Program says that about a quarter of all households in Gaza – roughly 500,000 people – are facing “catastrophic hunger conditions”, with food and water running out. Israel began its offensive after Hamas fighters crossed from Gaza into Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping more than 240 others. At least 20,000 people have been killed and 50,000 injured in the Gaza Strip since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.
The UN Security Council adopted a resolution that aimed to introduce “extended humanitarian pauses and corridors” throughout Gaza. The US and Russia abstained, while the 13 other members of the council – including the UK, which had previously abstained on a similar resolution – backed the text that now calls for creating conditions “for a sustainable cessation of hostilities”. The resolution demanded that parties “allow, facilitate and enable the immediate, safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian population throughout the Gaza Strip”.
The resolution calls for the appointment of a coordinator to oversee a UN mechanism that will be set up with the goal of speeding up the distribution of aid. Reacting to the resolution, Hamas criticized what it said was an “insufficient step” to meet the humanitarian needs of people in Gaza, and accused the US of working hard to “empty this resolution of its essence”. Copyright 2023 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Read about our approach to external linking. Beta Terms By using the Beta Site, you agree that such use is at your own risk and you know that the Beta Site may include known or unknown bugs or errors, that we have no obligation to make this Beta Site available with or without charge for any period of time, nor to make it available at all, and that nothing in these Beta Terms or your use of the Beta Site creates any employment relationship between you and us. The Beta Site is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and we make no warranty to you of any kind, express or implied. In case of conflict between these Beta Terms and the BBC Terms of Use these Beta Terms shall prevail.