As the Israeli army intensifies its bombings in Khan Younes, in the south of the Gaza Strip, two tanks opened fire on a United Nations (UN) shelter on Wednesday, January 24, causing “nine dead and seventy-five injured”said the director of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza, Thomas White.
The complex, which hosts refugees from the war, houses ten thousand people, according to James McGoldrick, acting deputy special coordinator of the United Nations for the Middle East peace process, deploring “another incident in which a building used for humanitarian purposes is damaged or struck.”
The Commissioner General of UNRWA, Philippe Lazzarini, for his part castigated “once again a blatant violation of the fundamental rules of war”. Although he did not formally accuse Israel, he noted, onthat the training center transformed into a shelter was “clearly identified as a UN structure and [que] his coordinates [avaient] been shared with the Israeli authorities”. The death toll of nine is “probably higher”he added.
Questioned by Agence France-Presse (AFP), the Israeli army responded Wednesday evening that a “comprehensive review of force operations [israéliennes] in the surrounding area was in progress”, but that she had ” excluded (…) an air or artillery strike ». The army’s message also mentions ” the possibility “ from Hamas fire.
“Indescribable” situation in Khan Younes hospitals
“We deplore the attack perpetrated today against the United Nations center in Khan Younes”declared for his part the deputy spokesperson for the American State Department, Vedant Patel, adding that the “protective function of UN installations must be respected”. Asked whether the United States was in contact with Israel, which it strongly supports, regarding this attack, he declined to go into detail about the conversations but explained that Washington would continue to “raise these difficult and very tough questions with the Israeli government”.
Israel had called on the civilian population to evacuate Khan Younes, but the fighting makes any movement extremely dangerous. Among the areas to be evacuated are three hospitals, including Al-Amal Hospital and the Nasser government medical complex, which are surrounded. At the Nasser hospital, where there are around 18,000 displaced people, according to the UN, dozens of tanks block “all sides”except one ” corridor “ evacuation, according to the Hamas media office which spoke of “violent strikes nearby” of the establishment. The World Health Organization has deplored a situation “indescribable” in city hospitals.