UNRWA official calls to end attacks on sites sheltering civilians in Gaza
Anjali Sharma
GG News Bureau
UNITED NATIONS, 26th Jan. UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Thomas White said on Thursday that attacks on buildings in Gaza where civilians are sheltering are “abhorrent and must stop immediately”, after a direct hit on a UN training centre.
Mr. White said that the death toll from intensified fighting “in the area” of the training centre in Khan Younis has risen to 12 confirmed fatalities and 75 injured 15 critically.
“Persistent attacks on civilian sites in Khan Younis are utterly unacceptable and must stop immediately…Yesterday, the centre was hit by two shells and caught fire,” Mr. White said,.
He condemned the “consistent failure to uphold the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law: distinction, proportionality and precautions in carrying out attacks”.
The ongoing heavy fighting involved Israeli Defense Forces and Palestinian armed groups and militants Hamas around hospitals and shelters in Khan Younis, UNHRA stated.
Mr. White warned that staff, patients and displaced people “are trapped inside and lifesaving operations are impeded”.
“A number of missions to assess the situation were denied,” Mr. White said.
He added that on Wednesday evening, “the UN finally managed to reach the affected areas to treat trauma patients, bring medical supplies and evacuate injured patients to Rafah.”
Mr. White reported that heavy fighting near the few hospitals that remain partly functional in Khan Younis including Nasser Medical Complex and Al-Amal, has left them “effectively encircled.”
The official noted that Al-Kheir Hospital in Khan Younis had now closed “after patients, including women who had just undergone C-section surgeries, were evacuated in the middle of the night”.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that a team had helped to evacuate 45 patients from the UN training centre to Al-Najjar Hospital in Rafah, “15 of whom were in critical condition. One patient tragically died en route” has confirmed details of the rescue mission in Khan Younis,
Tedros noted that the intensity of fighting was such that the team “did not manage to evacuate all of the injured”.
“We urge protection of all civilians, humanitarians and health workers. We appeal for an immediate ceasefire,” he stated.
The International Court of Justice prepared to issue a decision in South Africa’s case against Israel over alleged genocide in Gaza, which Israel strongly denied.
Israel launched heavy bombardment in response to Hamas-led attacks on Israeli communities in sothern Israel that left some 1,200 dead and more than 250 taken hostage, Gaza health ministry have reported that at least 25,700 people have been killed and some 63,740 injured since the war began on October 7, 2023.
