The article about the Gaza Strip said that Israel "remains the occupying power under international law." The article should have noted that this is a disputed point.
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As U.S. Abstains, U.N. Security Council Calls for Cease-Fire
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Despite a Supreme Court order, Israel has not allowed international journalists into Gaza since it began its offensive, with the exception of a BBC cameraman who was permitted to embed with Israeli troops.
Israel conquered Gaza in a 1967 war with Arab armies, and although it pulled its troops and settlers out in 2005, it remains the occupying power under international law. Sari Bashi of the Israeli human rights group Gisha, said that means Israel is legally responsible for the humanitarian needs of the population.
"The obligation is the Israeli army's. No one else's," she said.
The U.N. decision reflects rising anger and frustration among humanitarian workers in Gaza over the perceived hostility of the Israeli military toward their efforts. The Red Cross on Thursday protested Israel's "unacceptable" delays in letting rescue workers reach three buildings that had been hit by Israeli shelling.
An Israeli mediator was in Egypt Thursday, discussing possible cease-fire proposals with Egyptian authorities. Israel said on Wednesday that it was in "fundamental agreement" with a cease-fire plan offered by Egypt and France but that many details still need to be worked out.
In the meantime, Israel's offensive against Hamas continued with more than 40 airstrikes, including an intense bombardment of the southern part of the territory, near the border with Egypt. Hamas and its allies in Gaza fired at least 20 rockets Thursday into southern Israel. Earlier in the campaign, the daily number of rocket attacks was 40 or more.
There was also a brief exchange of fire Thursday morning across Israel's northern border with Lebanon. Several rockets were lobbed into Israeli territory, and the Israeli military responded with fire into southern Lebanon.
Although the exchange recalled the 2006 war between Israel and the Lebanon-based Hezbollah movement, Lebanese officials promptly condemned the fire from their side and said they were taking steps to patrol the area more closely. Several Palestinian refugee camps are located in southern Lebanon.
Hezbollah said it was not responsible for the rockets, which landed near the Israeli town of Nahariya.
"We regard this as an isolated event," said Tal, the Israel Defense Forces spokesman.
Also on Thursday, Israel reacted angrily to comments made by an aide to Pope Benedict XVI comparing Gaza to "a big concentration camp." Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said that Israel was "terribly dismayed" by the comments and that they reflected Hamas propaganda.
Lynch reported from the United Nations. Correspondent Craig Whitlock in Jerusalem and special correspondents Samuel Sockol in Jerusalem and Reyham Abdel Kareem in Gaza City contributed to this report.
