The UN Human Rights Office condemned the increasing frequency of Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) strikes on schools, where hundreds of thousands of forcibly displaced Palestinians have sought shelter, with the latest attacks killing dozens at a Gaza City school.

At the World Health Assembly, member countries also adopted important amendments to the International Health Regulations, including defining a ‘pandemic emergency’ and pledging improved access to medical products and financing.

Several Gazans have been seeking refuge in Rafah so far after it was declared a safe zone by Israeli authorities.

Amid reports that 100,000 Palestinians have been told to leave Rafah ahead of an anticipated Israeli military operation there and that Hamas has accepted the latest Israeli ceasefire proposal, UN humanitarians on Monday insisted that they had no intention of quitting the vital aid hub.

The development follows the recovery of hundreds of bodies “buried deep in the ground and covered with waste” over the weekend at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, central Gaza, and at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City in the north.

In January, Israel went public alleging that several staff members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) was involved in October 7 attack against Israel carried out by Hamas.

The Security Council rejected Palestine’s request for UN membership on Thursday, with the United States casting a veto.

The move will allow for further evaluation of the security issues that impact both personnel on the ground and the people they are trying to serve, a UN spokesperson said on Wednesday.

The killing of seven aid workers from the NGO World Central Kitchen in Israeli military airstrikes in central Gaza has been strongly condemned by senior UN humanitarian officials.

The International Court of Justice on Thursday issued new provisional measures for Israel as the humanitarian situation in bombarded and besieged Gaza continues to deteriorate.

“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the threshold indicating the commission of the crime of genocide…has been met,” said the UN Special Rapporteur Francesca Albanese.

'Tragically, an unknown number of people lie under rubble,' António Guterres said, reiterating his call for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire and unconditional release of all the hostages seized during the Hamas-led terror attack of October 7.

Currently, only 12 of Gaza’s 36 hospitals are “partially functioning”, according to the World Health Organization, with the rest destroyed by Israel’s near constant bombardment of the enclave.

Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, five people have been publicly executed further to decisions of the de facto judicial system and approved by the Taliban leader.

The UN chief said that any further extension of Israel’s ground operation in the south of Gaza “would not only be terrifying for more than a million Palestinian civilians sheltering there; it would put the final nail in the coffin of our aid programmes”.

On average, nearly 98 aid trucks entered Gaza this month, UNRWA said in its latest situation report. The agency noted 'significant difficulties' in bringing supplies through the Kerem Shalom and Rafah crossings due to security constraints and temporary closures. 

'Water is at a trickle. Basic infrastructure has been decimated. Food production has come to a halt. One million children face daily traumas,' said the principals of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee, the coordinating body of global humanitarian organisations.

In a statement, the UN World Food Programme (WFP) said it has reluctantly had to pause aid deliveries to north Gaza until conditions are in place that allow for safe distributions.

Palestinian women and girls have reportedly been arbitrarily executed in Gaza, often together with family members, including their children, according to information received by the UN Human Rights Council.

'There are more than a million people crammed in Rafah. It's not intended for a million people in shelters, in random sort of plastic sheeted constructions. Health conditions are very worrisome,' said UN Senior Humanitarian Coordinator for Gaza Sigrid Kaag.