Senior U.N. official denounces ‘blatant disregard’ in Israel-Hamas battle after many websites are hit

BEIRUT — The head of the U.N. company for Palestinian refugees instructed The Associated Press on Wednesday there isn’t a secure haven in besieged Gaza for civilians – not even in U.N. shelters and so-called “safe zones” designated by Israel.

Philippe Lazzarini, commissioner basic of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency, also called UNRWA, mentioned in an interview with the AP that because the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas battle, greater than 80 U.N. services within the Gaza Strip have been hit.

During the lethal Hamas-led Oct. 7 incursion into southern Israel, the militants killed about 1,200 folks, principally civilians, and took captive some 240 males, ladies and kids. Israel responded with an aerial bombardment and floor offensive inside Gaza that has up to now killed greater than 16,200 folks within the enclave, most of them ladies and kids, in line with the Hamas-run territory’s Health Ministry, which doesn’t differentiate between civilian and combatant deaths.

The U.N. services hit “directly or indirectly” in Gaza embrace websites which have been sheltering civilians, Lazzarini mentioned. UNRWA has mentioned that greater than 220 Palestinians had been killed in such strikes, and that 130 of its staff additionally misplaced their lives within the battle.

“There is absolutely no safe place in the Gaza Strip,” Lazzarini mentioned, chatting with the AP in Beirut.

While the circumstances of these strikes are troublesome to research amid the continued battle, he mentioned, “I do believe that the blatant disregard of U.N. premises … will require an independent investigation in the future.”

Israeli officers have mentioned they don’t goal U.N. services, however have additionally accused Hamas of utilizing U.N. buildings for canopy for its navy actions.

The U.N. says some 1.87 million Palestinians – over 80% of Gaza‘s population – have fled their homes. U.N.-run shelters currently house more than 1 million displaced in “totally overcrowded, appalling sanitary conditions,” Lazzarini said.

When he visited Gaza shortly before a seven-day cease-fire ended last week, shelters were already overcrowded with those who had fled heavy fighting in the northern half of the territory, he said. As the Israeli ground offensive pushed into the southern part of the strip, civilians have been forced into ever smaller areas along the closed-off border with Egypt.

Lazzarini said UNRWA is focusing on improving conditions in existing shelters, including its network of schools across Gaza.

“We do not want to put the people in places which are not necessarily safer, when at the same time, you have more than 1 million people in existing shelters living in appalling conditions,” he said.

Lt. Col. Richard Hecht, an Israeli military spokesman, alleged earlier this week that “there should be pressure on” UNRWA to set up proper facilities. Israel has never explained how it expects that the small area would accommodate such large numbers of displaced people.

Lazzarini called for a new cease-fire and for opening more border crossings to allow aid and commercial goods to enter Gaza. Currently, aid can only enter the strip from Egypt via the Rafah border crossing, causing severe bottlenecks.

The refugee agency’s relationship with Israeli authorities has prior to now been adversarial at instances, with right-wing Israeli politicians accusing UNRWA, which was based within the wake of the creation of Israel in 1948 to serve tons of of hundreds of Palestinians who fled or had been compelled from their houses, of serving to perpetuating the Israeli-Palestinian battle.

UNRWA has pushed again in opposition to such claims, saying it’s merely finishing up its mandate to serve a weak inhabitants.

Lazzarini mentioned that within the present Israel–Hamas battle, UNRWA is in “constant coordination” with Israeli authorities. Post-war, he mentioned, the company is ready to help no matter physique is governing the strip in restoring providers which have halted, together with reopening colleges.

Lazzarini added that he hopes the devastating battle will set off a political course of that can result in a decision that may make his company out of date.

“Will this become a top priority of the region and the international community that once and for all we address the longest unresolved conflict,” he requested. “If yes, there can be a trajectory of hope for the people here in the region and the future for UNRWA in fact, would very much depend on that.”