Israel pounds Gaza as UN calls for embargo, U.S. urges restraint

Several Israeli air strikes in the central and northern Gaza Strip overnight and into Thursday killed at least 14 people and wounded dozens of others, according to local medics, while tanks deepened their invasion into Rafah in the south, residents said.

Israeli planes struck a house in Al-Nuseirat camp, killing two people and wounding 12 others, while tanks shelled areas in Al-Maghazi and Al-Bureij camps, wounding many others, health officials said. Nuseirat, Maghazi and Bureij are three of Gaza's eight refugee camps.

In Deir al-Balah, a city packed with displaced people in the central Gaza Strip, an Israeli air strike killed one Palestinian and wounded several others on Thursday, medics said.

Later on Thursday, an Israeli air strike on a house in the Zeitoun neighborhood in Gaza City killed seven Palestinians, medics said. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The Israeli military said on Wednesday that forces were continuing their operations across the enclave targeting militants and military infrastructure in what it described as "precise, intelligence-based" activities.

More than eight months into the war in Gaza, Israel's advance is now focused on the two last areas its forces have yet to storm: Rafah on Gaza's southern edge and the area surrounding Deir al-Balah in the center. The operations have forced more than a million people to flee since May, with the vast majority already displaced from other parts of the enclave.

UN experts call for end to arms transfers to Israel

On Thursday, over 30 United Nations (UN) experts called on states and companies to put an end to the transfer of weapons and ammunition to Israel.

Such transfers could constitute serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and risk state complicity in international crimes, possibly including genocide, the experts said.

In a joint statement, special rapporteurs, independent experts, and working groups of the UN Human Rights Council urged countries and arms manufacturers to cease the sale, transfer and diversion of arms, munitions and other military equipment to Israel, even if they are conducted under existing export licenses.

These companies include BAE Systems, Boeing, Caterpillar, General Dynamics, and Lockheed Martin.

"These companies, by sending weapons, parts, components, and ammunition to Israeli forces, risk being complicit in serious violations of international human rights and international humanitarian laws," the experts said.

U.S. urges restraint amid tensions between Israel, Lebanon

On Friday, Al Jazeera Arabic verified video footage depicting an aerial strike by Hezbollah forces on a military site in the town of Metula, in the north of Israel. The attack on what appears to be Israeli radar and communications infrastructure may have been carried out by a Hezbollah attack drone, Al Jazeera Arabic said.

The strike comes amid escalating cross-border clashes between Israeli and Hezbollah forces. During a meeting on Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized to Israeli officials the importance of avoiding further escalation in Lebanon amid the war in Gaza, the State Department said.

Blinken was meeting Israeli national security adviser Tzachi Hanegbi and Ron Dermer, Israel's minister for strategic affairs.

Tensions escalated between Israel and U.S.

On Thursday, the White House expressed deep disappointment over criticism of the United States by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, amid tensions between the two allies over Israel's war in Gaza.

The White House response came as national security adviser Jake Sullivan held meetings with Netanyahu's top two aides to discuss the Gaza conflict and other issues. Similar talks were expected between U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and the Israeli officials.

White House national security spokesperson John Kirby addressed the comments in a briefing with reporters, saying the U.S. had directly expressed displeasure to Israel.

"I think we've made it abundantly clear to our Israeli counterparts through various vehicles our deep disappointment in the statements expressed in that video and our concerns over the accuracy in the statements made," Kirby said.

"The idea that we had somehow stopped helping Israel with their self-defense needs is absolutely not accurate," he said.

(With input from agencies)