Middle East latest: UN General Assembly demands a ceasefire in Gaza

The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly approved resolutions Wednesday demanding an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and expressing support for the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees that Israel has moved to ban. General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, although they reflect world opinion.

Israel has faced growing international criticism over its conduct in Gaza as it fights Hamas militants, especially when it comes to humanitarian aid for desperate people in the besieged and heavily destroyed territory.

Israeli airstrikes in northern and central Gaza killed at least 33 people overnight and into Wednesday, Palestinian medical officials said. Hospital records show one Israeli strike in northern Gaza killed 19 people in a home, including a family of eight — four children, their parents and two grandparents.

The Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas militant in the vicinity of the hospital, part of a blistering offensive in Gaza’s isolated and heavily destroyed north.