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The U.N. chief warned Israel that the United Nations has “credible information” of sexual violence and other violations by Israeli forces against detained Palestinians, which Israel’s U.N. ambassador dismissed as “baseless accusations," Associated Press reported.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said in a letter to Ambassador Danny Danon that he is “gravely concerned” about reported violations against Palestinians by Israeli military and security forces in several prisons, a detention center and a military base.

Guterres said he was putting Israeli forces on notice that they could be listed as abusers in his next report on sexual violence in conflict “due to significant concerns of patterns of certain forms of sexual violence that have been consistently documented by the United Nations," according to Associated Press.

Typhoon Podul hit Taiwan's sparsely populated southeast coast on Wednesday packing winds of up to 191 kph (118 mph), as a large swathe of southern and eastern parts of the island shut down and hundreds of flights were cancelled, Reuters reported.

Taiwan is regularly hit by typhoons, generally along its mountainous east coast facing the Pacific.

"Destructive winds from typhoon expected. Take shelter ASAP," read a text message alert issued to cellphone users in parts of Taitung early on Wednesday. The alert warned people of gusts above 150 kph (93 mph) in the coming hours, according to Reuters.

Russia has won the war in Ukraine, right-wing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said on Tuesday ahead of a summitbetween U.S. President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin on Friday, Reuters reported.

In power since 2010, Orban has been criticised by some European leaders for his government's ties with Russia and opposition to military aid for Ukraine, while his cabinet is struggling to revive the economyfrom an inflation shock.

Orban, who has maintained close ties with Putin even after Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine, became the only European Union leader on Monday not to endorse a joint statement saying Ukraine should have the freedom to decide its future, according to Reuters.

Gaza City has come under intense air attack, the territory's Hamas-run civil defence agency has said, as Israeli forces prepare to launch an operation to take over the city, BBC reported.

Mahmud Bassal, a spokesman, said the residential areas of Zeitoun and Sabra had been hit for three days causing "massive destruction to civilian homes", with residents unable to recover the dead and injured.

Meanwhile the UK, EU, Australia, Canada and Japan issued a statement saying "famine is unfolding in front of our eyes" and urged action to "reverse starvation".

They demanded "immediate, permanent and concrete steps" to facilitate the entry of aid to Gaza. Israel denies there is starvation in Gaza, according to BBC.