A local hospital says at least 48 Palestinians have been killed in a series of Israeli air strikes in northern Gaza overnight.

The Indonesian hospital reported that 22 children and 15 women were among the dead after several homes in Jabalia town and a refugee camp were hit.

The Israeli military said it was looking into the reports, noting that it had warned residents of Jabalia and neighbouring areas to evacuate on Tuesday night after a Palestinian armed group launched rockets into Israel.

It came as the UN’s humanitarian affairs chief urged members of the UN Security Council to take action to “prevent genocide” in Gaza.

Speaking at a meeting in New York on Tuesday, Tom Fletcher accused Israel of “deliberately and unashamedly imposing inhumane conditions on civilians”.

He called on Israel to lift its 10-week blockade on Gaza and criticised the Israeli-US plan to take over the distribution of humanitarian aid in the territory.

The Israeli ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, told the council that foreign aid was being used to help Hamas’s war effort.

Meanwhile, US Special Envoys Steve Witkoff and Adam Boehler said they would travel to Qatar for fresh negotiations on a possible ceasefire and hostage release deal.

BBC/Maxwell Oyekunle

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