United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has written to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expressing his concern over new Israeli legislation that would ban the main U.N. agency supporting Palestinian refugees.

"The Secretary-General is writing and has dispatched a letter not too long ago, a few hours ago to the Prime Minister of Israel, outlining his concerns, the issues of international law that has been raised by this law," spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters Tuesday of the two bills adopted Monday by the Israeli Knesset.

"Obviously, if it is implemented, it is clear that it will have a devastating impact on the humanitarian situation of Palestinians in the occupied territory," Dujarric said.

He said Guterres also has written to the president of the U.N. General Assembly, which created UNRWA in December 1949.

Guterres had previously criticized the two laws, set to go into effect in 90 days, which he said "could have devastating consequences" for Palestinian refugees.

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Guterres also called on Israel to uphold its obligations under international humanitarian law and said national legislation "cannot alter those obligations."

Israel's U.N. envoy, Danny Danon, said "UNRWA Gaza has become a front for Hamas" and accused Guterres of ignoring that "indisputable fact."

Also Tuesday, Palestinian health officials said an Israeli airstrike hit a five-story residential building in northern Gaza, killing at least 60 people. An additional 17 people were missing after the attack in Beit Lahiya.

The United Nations expressed deep concern about the high number of casualties, saying it could not access Beit Lahiya. There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.

The new Israeli legislation bans the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, or UNRWA, and forbids Israeli officials from having any contact with UNRWA representatives.

Norway's prime minister said Tuesday his government will submit a resolution to the U.N. General Assembly for it to request a ruling from the International Court of Justice on whether Israel will be violating international law.

"This undermines the right of Palestinians to receive humanitarian aid and lifesaving assistance," Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store said in a statement. "We have a collective obligation to respond to this."

At the U.N. Security Council, the 15 member states individually expressed concern about the legislation, many of them referring to UNRWA as a "lifeline" for Palestinians in the occupied territories and acknowledging it is the "backbone" of the U.N. aid operation in Gaza.

The U.S. envoy urged U.N. chief Guterres to create a mechanism to review and address allegations that UNRWA personnel have ties to Hamas.

"At the same time, we know that right now, there is no alternative to UNRWA when it comes to delivering food and other life-saving aid in Gaza," Linda Thomas-Greenfield said. "Therefore, we have concerns about this legislation being implemented."

UNRWA Commissioner General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement Monday that the bill "sets a dangerous precedent."

"This is the latest in the ongoing campaign to discredit UNRWA and delegitimize its role towards providing human-development assistance and services to Palestine Refugees," he wrote on social media platform X.

Israel has accused dozens of UNRWA staffers of being members of Hamas and some of participating in the October 7, 2023, terror attacks. UNRWA says it has taken action against about a dozen employees that Israel provided evidence about regarding their involvement with the terror group. However, in dozens of other cases, UNRWA has received either insufficient or no evidence from Israeli authorities.

Hezbollah leader

The Lebanon-based militant group Hezbollah announced Tuesday that Sheikh Naim Kassem is its new leader, following the killing of longtime leader Hassan Nasrallah in a September Israeli airstrike in Beirut.

A Hezbollah statement said the group's Shura Council elected Kassem, and that the militants would continue Nasrallah's policies.

Kassem served as Hezbollah's deputy leader for more than three decades.

Hamas and Hezbollah are U.S.-designated terror groups.

The latest conflict in the region began when Hamas militants killed 1,200 people and captured about 250 hostages in their October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. Israel says it believes Hamas is still holding 101 hostages, including 35 the military says are dead.

Israel's counteroffensive in Gaza has killed more than 43,000 Palestinians, according to the territory's health ministry, with Israel saying the death toll includes thousands of militants. The Israeli campaign has devastated much of the Gaza Strip, while the fighting and Israeli evacuation orders have displaced around 90% of Gaza's population of 2.3 million people.

VOA U.N. correspondent Margaret Besheer contributed to this report. Some information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, Agence France-Presse and Reuters.

The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.

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