UN votes symbolically in favor of Palestinian membership

The UN General Assembly voted overwhelmingly Friday in support of a Palestinian bid for full membership of the organization, a symbolic move due to the United States' veto in the Security Council.

The resolution, which states that the Palestinians should be admitted to the UN and grants them some additional rights as observers, received 143 votes for, 9 against and 25 abstentions.

Meanwhile, The Israeli army said four soldiers were killed on Friday when an "explosive device" went off near a school in Gaza City.

"The four soldiers were killed in the same incident, from an explosive device near a school in the area of Zeitoun", a southern neighbourhood of Gaza City, the military said.

In a statement, the military said that two other soldiers were "seriously injured" in the blast, including an officer.

Separately, the Israeli military said that two soldiers were seriously wounded in fighting in southern Gaza, adding that they had been evacuated to a hospital for treatment.

Several armed groups issued statements Friday claiming a range of attacks in Gaza.

The Al-Quds Brigade said it "detonated a field of mines and high-explosive ground devices" in the Zeitoun neighbourhood.

The Ezzedine Al-Qassam Brigades, said it attacked Israeli soldiers in the east of Rafah, the far southern city where Israeli troops launched a controversial incursion on Tuesday.

The latest deaths take to 271 the Israeli military's losses in the Gaza campaign since the start of its ground offensive on October 27.