UN Calls for Ending Attacks Against Civilians
Sudan Events – Sumaya sayed
Attacks on buildings in Gaza where terrified civilians are sheltering are “abhorrent and must stop immediately”, a top UN humanitarian official insisted on Thursday, after a direct hit on a United Nations training centre.
The death toll from intensified fighting “in the area” of the training centre in the southern city of Khan Younis in recent days has risen to 12 confirmed fatalities and 75 injured – 15 critically – said Thomas White, Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory.
“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, as he condemned the “consistent failure to uphold the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law: distinction, proportionality and precautions in carrying out attacks”.
Amid ongoing heavy fighting involving Israeli Defense Forces and Palestinian armed groups around hospitals and shelters in Khan Younis, the UN official 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 maintained, adding 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”.
But heavy fighting near the few hospitals that remain partly functional in the southern city including Nasser Medical Complex and Al Amal has left them “effectively encircled”, the UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator reported from Gaza.
