Israeli attacks on Gaza continue after UN´s ceasefire resolution

The Israeli army on Wednesday continued its intense airstrikes and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, notably in Rafah and Khan Younis in the southern part of the enclave, despite that the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution demanding an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza a day earlier, reported Xinhua.

According to Palestinian medical sources, the bodies of more than 40 Palestinians who were killed in Israeli airstrikes, including 10 children, were transferred to Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on Wednesday; around 20 people died in Israeli airstrikes on central Gaza, while another 15 were killed, and dozens wounded in Israeli attacks on the northern Gaza Strip.

Among the dead were journalist Abdul Kareem Awad, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike. Since Oct. 7, 87 journalists have been killed in the Gaza Strip. Poet and politician Saleem al-Naffar, along with his brother and families, were killed in an Israeli strike targeting a residential building in Gaza City, according to Palestinian sources.

The Gaza-based Health Ministry announced on Wednesday that at least 18,608 Palestinians have been killed and 50,594 others wounded in the Israeli attacks on Gaza since Oct. 7.

The Israeli army said on Wednesday it had targeted more than 250 locations in Gaza in the past 24 hours.

Meanwhile, it confirmed on Wednesday that 10 soldiers, including two senior commanders and several officers, were killed in field battles with Hamas fighters and other groups in Gaza.

According to the Israeli army, a total of 115 Israeli soldiers have been killed since the onset of ground battles in Gaza on Oct. 27.

With 153 supporting the draft resolution, 10 against and 23 countries abstaining, the UN General Assembly on Tuesday afternoon adopted a resolution demanding an "immediate humanitarian ceasefire" in Gaza.

The resolution also demands the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and "ensuring humanitarian access."

The Palestinian presidency welcomed the UN decision, considering it an international rejection of "Israeli aggression against the Palestinian people, their displacement from their land, and the creation of a new catastrophe."

Hamas also welcomed the resolution, urging the international community to continue pressing Israel to "halt its aggression" against Gaza.

Hussein Al-Sheikh, secretary-general of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization, said that the remarks made on Tuesday by U.S. President Joe Biden, criticizing Israel in an unprecedented manner, "must be turned into actions."

On Tuesday, Biden said that Israel was starting to lose support around the world in the face of the "indiscriminate bombing" of Gaza, and that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "has to change" to find a long-term solution to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.