A group of independent United Nations experts has warned that Palestinians are at risk of genocide and called for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza.
"We remain convinced that the Palestinian people are at grave risk of genocide," the group of experts, made up of seven UN special rapporteurs, said in a statement.
"We demand a humanitarian ceasefire to ensure that aid reaches those who need it the most."
They also called for the immediate release of all detained civilians and stressed that all parties must comply with their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law.
"We call on Israel and its allies to agree to an immediate ceasefire," the UN experts said. "We are running out of time."
Out of 52 primary care centers, 16 hospitals and 32 health centers are out of service due to Israeli bombing.
According to Hamas, more than 9,000 people have been killed in Gaza since the attack on October 7, with the Israeli authorities putting the death toll at 1,400.
An explosion at a fireworks warehouse in Karachi, Pakistan's largest city, injured at least 34 people on Thursday, police said, causing panic among residents.
A Ukrainian man was arrested at a holiday bungalow in Italy on suspicion of coordinating attacks on three Nord Stream gas pipelines in 2022, officials said on Thursday, a breakthrough in an episode that sharpened tensions between Russia and the West.
The Israeli military maintained its pressure on Gaza City with heavy bombardments overnight, residents said, ahead of a Thursday meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers on plans to seize the enclave's largest city.
Russian President Vladimir Putin is prepared to meet Volodymyr Zelenskyy but all issues must be worked through first and there's a question about the Ukrainian leader's authority to sign a peace deal, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Thursday.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, after Israel announced the first steps of an operation to take over Gaza City.