UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has said that there is an "endless catalogue of horrors" in Gaza as Israel continues to pound the Gaza Strip in preparation for an assault on Gaza City.
Guterres added that "Gaza is piled with rubble, piled with bodies, and piled with examples of what may be serious violations of international law."
Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed dozens since dawn, according to Al Jazeera, citing medical sources, with a number of Palestinians being wounded by Israeli gunfire while waiting for aid in north Rafah in the enclaves south.
In Gaza City's Zeitoun neighbourhood, some 1,500 buildings have been demolished by Israeli forces following the start of an operation in the area this month.
Meanwhile, in the occupied West Bank, Israeli settlers assaulted Palestinian shepherds, stealing 300 sheep, near the village of Ein Samia, close to Ramallah, according to Palestinian news agency Wafa.
On the ceasefire talks front, Israel has refused to respond to the agreement proposal that Hamas had already accepted, a move that angered mediators Egypt and Qatar.
Meanwhile, a senior White House official confirmed that US President Donald Trump chaired a meeting on Gaza on Wednesday, attended by former British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Trump’s son-in-law and former adviser Jared Kushner. Israel’s Channel 12 reported Wednesday evening that Blair and Kushner had participated in the White House meeting on Gaza and had presented the president with ideas for a “day after” plan for the war, citing two informed but unnamed sources.
In addition, members of the UN Security Council — with the exception of the United States — called for an immediate end to famine in Gaza, urging Israel to halt the war and reverse its decision to expand military operations in the Strip. In a joint statement issued after their meeting on Wednesday, Council members expressed deep concern over the famine that the United Nations has officially declared to be spreading in Gaza.
Israel's war on Gaza has killed 62,895 people and wounded a further 158,927 others.
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