United Nations aid chief Tom Fletcher has slammed a plan by Israel for the distribution of aid in Gaza as a "cynical sideshow, a deliberate distraction, a fig leaf for further violence and displacement."

He told the UN Security Council that no food, medicine, water or tents have entered the war-torn Palestinian enclave for more than 10 weeks.

"We can save hundreds of thousands of survivors. We have rigorous mechanisms to ensure our aid gets to civilians and not to Hamas, but Israel denies us access, placing the objective of depopulating Gaza before the lives of civilians," said Fletcher.

Israel's military has claimed it intercepted "two projectiles" fired from Gaza into Israeli territory, with another falling in an open area.

"Following the sirens that sounded at 21:44 (1844 GMT) in the areas of the communities near Gaza ... two projectiles that crossed from Gaza into Israeli territory were intercepted by the IAF (air force) and an additional projectile fell in an open area," a military statement said, adding that "no injuries were reported."

Palestinian rescuers in Gaza have said Israeli strikes in the vicinity of a hospital in the south of the territory killed at least 28 people, after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the military would enter the enclave "with full force" in the coming days.

Gaza's civil defence agency said at least 28 people were killed in Israeli strikes surrounding the European hospital in Khan Yunis, where the Israeli military claimed it hit a Hamas "command and control centre".

"It was an utterly catastrophic scene," Amro Tabash, a local photojournalist, told AFP.

"Everyone inside the hospital - patients and wounded alike - was running in fear, some on crutches, others screaming for their children, while others were being dragged on beds," he said.

Israel's military has said it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen, with AFP journalists reporting air raid sirens followed by explosions heard in the Jerusalem area.

"Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted," the military said in a statement, after earlier announcing it had "identified the launch of a missile from Yemen toward Israeli territory".

Yemen's Houthis, who say they are acting in solidarity with Palestinians, have launched repeated attacks on Israel and shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden since shortly after the October 2023 start of Israel’s war on Gaza.

The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has described an attack on Nasser Hospital in Gaza as "a huge blow to the already overwhelmed health system."

He said the attacks against health facilities should be deterred.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus noted on X that the attack killed two and injured 12. One of the injured is in "critical condition and is undergoing multiple surgical procedures," he said.

"The burn unit was struck, 18 hospital beds in the surgical department, 8 beds in the intensive care unit and 10 inpatient beds were destroyed," he said.

"We repeat our call: attacks on hospitals must stop," he demanded.

US President Donald Trump has voiced hope that Saudi Arabia will eventually recognise Israel, in a speech in Riyadh in the presence of the crown prince.

"It's my fervent hope and wish, and even my dream, that Saudi Arabia, a place I have such respect for... will soon be joining the Abraham accords" in which three other Arab countries normalised diplomatic relations with Israel, Trump said.

The UN has said Israel's approval of a land registration process in the occupied West Bank risks further "legitimising" its occupation over Palestinian territory.

"We think it's a dangerous movement in terms of legitimising the occupation. We believe that the West Bank is part of the occupied Palestinian territory," spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference.

The comments came after reports about the Israeli Cabinet approving a West Bank land registration process to "strengthen Jewish settlement."

Egypt refuses to name a new ambassador to Israel and delays the accreditation of Tel Aviv’s new envoy to Cairo amid rising tensions over the Gaza war, Israeli media has said.

The Yedioth Ahronoth newspaper, citing a source in the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, said Cairo decided not to appoint a new ambassador to Israel over renewed Israeli attacks on Gaza.

Former Egyptian ambassador to Israel, Khaled Azmi, ended his term a year ago after an additional year of service.

Egypt also delays the accreditation of Israel’s new ambassador Ori Rotman, without officially refusing his appointment, the daily said.

Israel's Education Minister Yoav Kisch has threatened to revoke funding for Israeli universities holding events to commemorate the Palestinian Nakba, or catastrophe after student groups began their annual demonstrations.

"Academia is not a platform for incitement under the guise of freedom of expression," Kisch wrote in a post on X.

He said he had appealed to Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich to revoke funding for the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Tel Aviv University following events that took place on their campuses with their support.

The UK has joined calls for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council to address the escalating humanitarian situation in Gaza, ministers have confirmed in the House of Commons.

UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy said the UK will “make representations very actively” at the session, voicing strong concern over Israel’s recent decision to reduce the number of aid distribution points.

Lammy emphasised that the UK is engaging closely with regional partners, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and reaffirmed the government's commitment to addressing the worsening humanitarian situation through diplomatic channels.