UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warns Security Council members of a “severe risk of humanitarian collapse” in Gaza.
He invokes Article 99, allowing him to bring to their attention anything he thinks could threaten international peace and security.
Heavy fighting is taking place across Gaza, with house-to-house fighting reported as Israeli forces intensify their ground operation.
Tanks are closing in on three areas – Khan Younis in the south and Jabalia and Shuja’iya in the north, where hundreds of thousands of civilians remain.
Israeli forces have also encircled the house of top Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in Khan Younis, Israel’s PM says.
The UN says 600,000 people are under evacuation orders in southern Gaza but “there is nowhere to go” because shelters are so full.
On Tuesday, Israel said its troops had reached “the heart of Khan Younis” – the largest southern city – on the “most intense” day of fighting in its ground operation.
The Hamas attack which sparked this war killed 1,200 people, with around 240 others taken hostage.
Hamas officials in Gaza say more than 16,200 people have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory campaign, including about 7,000 children.__bbc.com
