Palestinian Authority

Israel has subjected the town of Khan Younis in the Gaza Strip to intense shelling with tanks and airstrikes. Clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas fighters were also reported. A series of airstrikes hit the Nuseirat refugee camp.

The U.N. Security Council on Friday demanded aid be rushed to Gaza "at scale" as the head of the World Health Organization warned of a looming famine in the besieged Palestinian territory.

As Israeli bombs rained down on targets across Gaza, members of the U.N.'s top peacemaking council demanded "immediate, safe and unhindered" deliveries of life-saving aid.

The United Nations Security Council was expected to vote Friday on a resolution to boost aid to Gaza, as the world body warned the Israel-Hamas war was pushing the Palestinian territory towards famine.

Separate diplomatic efforts were also under way for a fresh pause in the worst-ever Gaza war, which was triggered by an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel in October.

This was confirmed by Husam Badran, a member of the Hamas representative office in Qatar, in an interview with the Wall Street Journal. According to Badran, Hamas wants an end to the war and a "Palestinian state in Gaza, the West Bank and Jerusalem."

The vote comes days after the United States of America (US) blocked a previous Security Council resolution that would have called for a "humanitarian ceasefire" in the stricken Palestinian territory.

At least 100 people have been killed in Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip over the past 24 hours, according to figures from the Palestinian Authority in the enclave. The military action comes amid growing international pressure on Israel for a ceasefire and calls inside the country to resume talks to free the hostages kidnapped by the radical Palestinian movement Hamas on October 7.

The United Nations Security Council will vote Monday on a new resolution calling for an "urgent and sustainable cessation of hostilities" in Gaza, as Washington exhibits growing impatience with key ally Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has called "truth" all the accusations in recent years that he is not working for the Middle East peace process and solving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by creating a separate, Palestinian state.

The foreign ministers of the Contact Group called on Nordic countries and Benelux states to be more critical against Israel as part of their efforts for an immediate ceasefire between Israel and Gaza.

Israel bombed Gaza on Thursday as a top White House advisor was due to arrive in Jerusalem with a rift growing over U.S. calls for its ally to exercise restraint.

The war has left besieged Gaza in ruins, killing more than 18,600 people, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, and devastating homes, roads, schools and hospitals.