Gaza war: UN envoy condemns 'deadly air strikes by Israel' in humanitarian zone

A United Nations envoy condemned an Israeli air strike on a humanitarian zone in war-ravaged Gaza on Tuesday that the territory's civil defence agency said killed 40 people.

"I strongly condemn today's deadly air strikes by Israel on a densely populated area in an Israeli-designated humanitarian zone in Khan Yunis where displaced people were sheltering," the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, Tor Wennesland, said in a statement.

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Israel said it targeted a Hamas command centre, but Wennesland said international humanitarian law "must be upheld at all times", while stressing that "civilians must never be used as human shields".