AFP
Israel continued to push ahead with its Gaza offensive Saturday, with Hamas authorities reporting heavy shelling in several cities hours after world powers demanded more aid be allowed into the besieged Palestinian territory.
The latest violence comes after the UN Security Council approved a resolution demanding "immediate, safe and unhindered" deliveries of life-saving aid be rushed to Gaza "at scale".
The resolution was passed after members wrangled for days over its wording.
At Washington's insistence, the Security Council watered down some provisions and avoided calling for a ceasefire that would stop the 11-week-old war, which began with Hamas's bloody raids into Israel on October 7.
It is still unclear what, if any, impact the vote will have on the ground.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said a ceasefire was still needed, arguing aid could not be adequately delivered while the bombs were falling.
"The way Israel is conducting this offensive is creating massive obstacles to the distribution of humanitarian aid," he said.
The United Nations estimates the fighting has displaced almost 80 percent of Gaza's 2.4 million population.
World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus warned a majority of those uprooted from their homes were now going "entire days and nights without eating".
"Hunger is present, and famine is looming," he said.
Hopes for a Christmas-time truce dim with each passing day, although talks brokered by Qatar, Egypt and the United States are ongoing.
AFP
