A group of 16 humanitarian organisations, including Amnesty International, Oxfam and Save the Children have sent a letter to the UN asking for an end to arms transfers to Israel and armed Palestinian groups, as conditions in Gaza reach a level of “utter desperation” more than three months into Israel’s assault on the strip.

“We call on all states to immediately halt the transfer of weapons, parts and ammunition to Israel and Palestinian armed groups while there is risk they are used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international humanitarian or human rights law,” the letter reads, noting that Israel’s assault has created a crisis of “unprecedented severity and scale” for Palestinian civilians.

The statement also notes that Palestinian armed groups continue to hold kidnapped Israelis captive in Gaza.

Mads Gilbert, a Norwegian physician and humanitarian activist, says Israel is weaponising aid restrictions against Gaza.

“It is a deliberate governmental plan to eradicate the people of Gaza – through disease, through bombing and through non-availability of medical supplies and medical services, and famine and the lack of water,” Gilbert told Al Jazeera’s Inside Story.

“This is one of the most gruesome, concerted attacks on public health that I have ever seen.”

He added that the humanitarian catastrophe is man-made. “This is a war crime. This is a weapon of mass destruction used deliberately by Israel.”

The Iran-linked coalition of Iraqi groups has claimed attacks against “occupation” forces at Ain al-Asad and Erbil air bases in Iraq as well as the Koniko base in eastern Syria.

Washington has been conducting air raids and imposing sanctions against Iran-backed groups in Iraq, particularly Kataib Hezbollah. The Pentagon said it struck three facilities of the Iraqi faction yesterday in response to a “series of escalatory attacks” against US forces.

While Iran-backed groups – now operating under the label of the Islamic Resistance in Iraq – had been occasionally targeting US forces in Iraq and Syria in the past, they have stepped up their attacks since the outbreak of the war in Gaza.

They often describe their operations, including the one today, as “in response to the massacres” against Palestinians.

Martin Griffiths has said that Israel is continuing heavy bombardment of Khan Younis, leaving civilians trapped with few options for seeking refuge.

“Heavy bombardment of Khan Younis continues,” Griffiths said in a social media post.

“Ordering trapped people to evacuate and bombing them before they can even do so is callous.”

Motaz Azaiza posed for a photo with Al Jazeera’s Wael Dahdouh and shared it on X. Both reporters have received praise for their work amid dangerous conditions on the ground in Gaza, where dozens of journalists have been killed since the beginning of Israel’s assault.

Dahdouh arrived in Qatar for medical treatment last week. The photojournalist Azaiza evacuated Gaza yesterday and also traveled to Qatar.

“Our smile is a kind of resilience,” he said in a post showing him with Dahdouh.

UNRWA leader Philippe Lazzarini has spoken out against the shelling of a UN shelter in Gaza earlier on Wednesday. At least nine were killed and 75 injured after two tank rounds struck a building sheltering 800 people.

“Another horrific day in Gaza. The number of those killed is likely higher. Khan Younis vocational training centre is one of the largest UNRWA facilities sheltering nearly 30,000 displaced people,” Lazzarini said in a social media post.

“The compound is a clearly marked UN facility and its coordinates were shared with Israeli Authorities as we do for all our facilities. Once again a blatant disregard of basic rules of war.”

Elise Stefanik, a top legislator in the US House of Representatives, noted that Republicans are “unified” in rejecting South Africa’s petition to the UN court accusing Israel of violating the Genocide Convention.

Dozens of lawmakers from President Joe Biden’s Democratic Party had also joined Republicans in signing on to a letter expressing “disgust” at the case.

“I joined a letter condemning South Africa for filing an anti-Semitic case against our ally Israel that perpetuates false and dangerous allegations against the Jewish state,” Stefanik said in a social media post.

The UN defines genocide as “acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnical, racial or religious group”. Israel has killed more than one percent of Gaza’s population since October 7.

The US Central Command has said that the Houthis launched three anti-ship ballistic missiles at a US-flagged container ship off the coast of Yemen earlier on Wednesday.

“One missile impacted in the sea. The two other missiles were successfully engaged and shot down by the USS Gravely (DDG 107),” CENTCOM said in a statement. “There were no reported injuries or damage to the ship.”

This confirms reports from shipping giant Maersk of an incident we reported earlier.

At least 210 Palestinians have been killed in the last 24 hours alone as Israel relentlessly pounds Khan Younis, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

But the White House says Israel is moving to a “low-intensity” phase of the war.

“They are pursuing, on the ground, more targeted operations, particularly against the [Hamas] leadership. They are relying less on airstrikes,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters.

Kirby declined to comment on the Israeli shelling of a UNRWA facility housing displaced people in Khan Younis, saying that he does not have “any background” on the incident.

The group has said it fired rockets at an Israeli base in the disputed territory that Lebanon claims as its own.

Israel says Shebaa Farms is part of the occupied Golan Heights, a section of Syria that Israel annexed in 1981. Lebanon also claims the territory, located near the Syria-Lebanon border.

Earlier, Hezbollah released footage of what it said was a rocket attack against Israel’s strategic Meron air base yesterday.