Israel faces growing criticism over UN shelter strike that killed children
Global leaders deplore Israel's attacks on the UN facility and stress that humanitarian workers must be protected so they can provide lifesaving assistance to civilians.
Palestinians try to extinguish a fire caused by Israeli shelling at a UNRWA building, which displaced people use as a shelter. / Photo: AP
From the United States to Jordan, countries and world leaders have condemned Israel's deadly shelling of a UN shelter in southern Gaza.
On Wednesday two Israeli tank shells hit a building sheltering 800 people in the city of Khan Younis, according to the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA).
The strikes killed at least nine people including four children and wounded 75 others, the head of UNRWA, Thomas White, wrote on X.
Update - attack on Khan Younis Training Centre this afternoon - two tank rounds hit building that shelters 800 people - reports now 9 dead and 75 injured@UNRWA and @WHO team trying to reach the centre - agreed upon route with Israeli Army blocked with earth bank #Gaza
— Thomas White (@TomWhiteGaza) January 24, 2024
In response, Jordan strongly decried the attack and called for an end to the Israeli aggression in the Palestinian enclave.
The Jordanian Foreign Ministry described the attack as an "act that contradicts all human and ethical values, and violates the international law, especially the 1949 Geneva Convention.”
Israel's continued violations of international law is the result of the absence of an effective international stance to end this raging war in the Ga za Strip
Jordan also called on the UN Security Council to urgently stop "Israel's blatant challenge to international law calling for a ceasefire.”
In addition, the US released its own statement about the attack, reminding Israel that it has a "responsibility to protect civilians, including, humanitarian personnel and sites."
We are gravely concerned by reports today of strikes hitting a UNRWA facility —with subsequent reports of fires in the building — in a neighbourhood in southern Gaza where more than 30,000 displaced Palestinians had reportedly been sheltering.
Adrienne Watson, Spokesperson for the White House's National Security Council called the loss of innocent life a tragedy and deaths and injury of children during the three-month war "heartbreaking."
However, she also said the United States "remains unwavering in its support for Israel to defend itself".
The US State Department also deplored the attacks on the UN facility and stressed that humanitarian workers must be protected so that they can keep providing lifesaving assistance to civilians.
Epicentre of fighting
The Israeli army said on Tuesday it had "encircled" Khan Younis, Gaza's main southern city which has become the epicentre of recent fighting.
The attack on the shelter in southern Gaza's biggest city sparked international condemnation, while the United Nations slammed a "blatant disregard" for the rules of war.
The World Health Organisation’s Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus denounced Israel’s bombardment of the city, calling it "horrendous".
The ongoing heavy bombardment, evacuation orders and killing of civilians in Khan Younis, #Gaza is just horrendous.@WHO team joined an @UNRWA mission to help those who were injured in today’s blast at the training centre where civilians were sheltering. Our deep condolences to… https://t.co/diWx3NyJiw
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) January 24, 2024
Israel has launched a deadly offensive on Gaza since an October 7 Hamas attack, killing at least 25,700 Palestinians and injuring 63,740 others. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed.
The Israeli war has left 85 percent of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while more than half of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.
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