UNITED NATIONS / GAZA / AMMAN / CAIRO - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is appalled by the escalation of military activity in and around Rafah in Gaza by the Israeli military, said his spokesman on Tuesday.

"These developments are further impeding humanitarian access and worsening an already dire situation. At the same time, Hamas goes on firing rockets indiscriminately," said Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman, in a statement.

Civilians must be respected and protected at all times -- in Rafah and elsewhere in Gaza. For people in Gaza, nowhere is safe now, said the statement.

Palestine TV reported that at least 40 people were killed and others injured after midnight Monday by Israeli bombardment in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip

Guterres reiterates his urgent appeal for an immediate humanitarian cease-fire and for the release of all hostages. The secretary-general calls for the Rafah crossing to be re-opened immediately for humanitarian access throughout Gaza, said the statement.

ALSO READ: Gaza crisis set to top Arab Summit agenda

Palestine TV reported that at least 40 people were killed and others injured after midnight Monday by Israeli bombardment in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

Israeli warplanes bombed a residential building owned by the Karaja family in the south of the Nuseirat camp, with children among the casualties, it said.

The Israeli army has repeatedly struck the Nuseirat camp. In a recent attack in late April, Israeli warplanes targeted a populated house in the refugee camp with a number of missiles, killing at least nine Palestinians, including four children, and injuring 30 others.

The Palestinian death toll from the ongoing Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has exceeded 35,000, according to the health authorities in Gaza.

On Tuesday, Jordan dispatched a plane from the Royal Jordanian Air Force to transport an injured Jordanian from Rafah to the kingdom for treatment, the Jordanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.

Yara Dababneh, a staffer at the United Nations Department of Safety and Security (DSS) in Gaza, was injured in an Israeli attack on a UN vehicle in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip, on Monday, according to a statement by the ministry.

The ministry said it has been coordinating with the DSS regarding the condition of the Jordanian citizen to ensure her transfer to Jordan's Al Hussein Medical City.

On Monday, Jordan condemned the attack on a UN vehicle in Rafah that resulted in the death of one staff member and the injury of another, due to Israel's expansion of its military operations in Rafah.

ALSO READ: Sources: Israeli army begins entering center of Rafah

The Israeli military said an initial inquiry found "that the vehicle was hit in an area declared an active combat zone" and that its forces "had not been made aware of the route of the vehicle." It said the incident was still under review.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Tuesday that Israel is solely responsible for the "humanitarian catastrophe" that the Palestinians are currently facing in the Gaza Strip

In Cairo, Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry said on Tuesday that Israel is solely responsible for the "humanitarian catastrophe" that the Palestinians are currently facing in the Gaza Strip.

According to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry, Shoukry made the remarks in response to the statements of Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz, who demanded reopening the Rafah crossing and held Egypt responsible for preventing a humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Shoukry affirmed Egypt's categorical rejection of Israel's policy of "distorting facts," stressing that Israel is solely responsible for the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

He said the Israeli control of the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing, and the Israeli military operations in the vicinity of the crossing, expose the lives of relief workers and truck drivers to imminent dangers, noting it is the reason for the inability to bring aid through the crossing.

Shoukry also denounced Israel's attempts to hold Egypt responsible for the unprecedented humanitarian crisis facing the Gaza Strip as "a direct result of random Israeli attacks against Palestinians for more than seven months."

The top Egyptian diplomat called on Israel to fulfill its legal responsibility by allowing aid to enter through the land ports under its control.

READ MORE: Israel intensifies attacks on Rafah as Palestinian death toll tops 35,000

Last week, Israel's military started "a precise counterterrorism operation" in Rafah city and assumed "operational control" over the Rafah crossing in Gaza. Since then, the crossing has been blocked against the movement of travelers and trucks carrying aid to more than two million Palestinians in the enclave.