Israeli warplanes struck parts of the Gaza Strip overnight into Saturday in relentless bombardments, including some of the dwindling slivers of land Palestinians had been told to evacuate to in the enclave's south.
The latest strikes came a day after the United States vetoed a United Nations resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, despite it being backed by the vast majority of Security Council members and many other nations. The vote in the 15-member council was 13–1, with the United Kingdom abstaining.
"Attacks from air, land and sea are intense, continuous, and widespread," UN Secretary-General António Guterres said before the vote. Gaza residents "are being told to move like human pinballs – ricocheting between ever-smaller slivers of the south, without any of the basics for survival".
Guterres told the council that Gaza was at "a breaking point" with the humanitarian support system at risk of total collapse, and that he feared "the consequences could be devastating for the security of the entire region".
Gaza's borders with Israel and with Egypt are effectively sealed, leaving Palestinians with no option other than to try to seek refuge within the territory. Israel's war on Gaza has killed at least 17,700 people, according to the strip's health ministry.
On Saturday, Gaza residents reported airstrikes and shelling in the northern part of the strip as well as in the south, including the city of Rafah, which lies near the Egyptian border and where the Israeli army had ordered civilians to evacuate to.
The main hospital in the central city of Deir al-Balah received the bodies of 71 people killed in bombings in the area over the past 24 hours, the health ministry said on Saturday morning. The hospital also received 160 wounded, the ministry said. In the southern city of Khan Younis, the bodies of 62 people and another 99 wounded were taken to Nasser Hospital over the past 24 hours, the ministry said.
Israel has been trying to secure its military's hold on northern Gaza, where there has been furious fighting. Tens of thousands of residents are believed to remain in the area despite Israel ordering them to evacuate.
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