UNRWA chief denounces destruction of Gaza headquarters
The head of the UN’s agency for Palestinian refugees says its headquarters in Gaza has been levelled during heavy fighting.
“The headquarters in Gaza turned into a battlefield and now flattened. Another episode in the blatant disregard of international humanitarian law. United Nations facilities must be protected at all times. They must never be used for military or fighting purposes. Shocking,” said Philippe Lazzarini.
Shocking.@UNRWA headquarters in #Gaza, turned into a battlefield & now flattened 👇
Another episode in the blatant disregard of international humanitarian law.
United Nations facilities must be protected at all times. They must never be used for military or fighting… pic.twitter.com/XVOm5UjJeM
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) July 15, 2024
Tamara al-Rifai, UNRWA’s head of external relations, says the past week has been one of the deadliest since the war started in October. H
“The images coming out of the UNRWA headquarters are really shocking. What I saw today is unrecognizable,” she told Al Jazeera. “It speaks volumes for the blatant disregard for international humanitarian law.”
Al-Rifai noted 190 UNRWA facilities – “most of which served as shelters for displaced people” – have been attacked during the war, killing more than 500 people and wounding 1,600.
A commission of inquiry is needed to investigate the attacks on UNRWA facilities and the “killing of its staff”, she added.
‘A terrifying precedent for a nation state to set’
The Islamic Relief charity has condemned “the brutal killing and wounding of hundreds of civilians” in Gaza over the last few days.
“The government of Israel is proving to the world over and over again – this time in the designated safe area of al-Mawasi, and yesterday in a school housing civilians in Nuseirat – that it’s willing to kill innocent men, women and children in pursuit of its end goals,” it said in a statement.
“It’s a terrifying precedent for a nation state to set… The siege and killing in Gaza must end.”
The international charity demanded an end to civilian casualties and “aid to be allowed to flow back into the enclave in the quantities needed to halt spreading famine”.
Firefighters extinguish a fire after Israeli air strikes hit a building in Deir el-Balah
Attacks cause panic in Deir el-Balah, where Palestinians were told to seek refuge
There is an intensification of bombardment in the central area, particularly in Deir el-Balah, where Israeli jets targeted a residential flat.
The attack was carried out in a densely populated area. At least three Palestinians have been reported killed, among them a young child, while the injured were brought to Al-Aqsa Hospital for treatment. This attack has left behind a trail of destruction, causing a great deal of panic and frustration among the residents of neighbouring houses.
Deir el-Balah is where Palestinians have been told to go and seek refuge.
We have been hearing from sources on the ground in Khan Younis that there is a partial military incursion in the eastern areas of the city where the Israeli military targeted a kindergarten.
The operation in Rafah is still ongoing with attacks on the residential neighbourhoods in the central and eastern areas of Rafah.
‘Where to go is what everybody asks – no one has the answer’
Two days after an Israeli strike turned a crowded swathe of al-Mawasi near the Mediterranean coast into a charred wasteland littered with burning cars and mangled bodies, displaced survivors say they had no idea where they should go next.
“Those moments as the ground shook underneath my feet and the dust and sand rose to the sky and I saw dismembered bodies – [it] was like nothing I have seen in my life,” said Aya Mohammad, 30, a market seller.
“Where to go is what everybody asks, and no one has the answer.”
Palestinian man recounts children dying in Israeli attack
Municipal officials in Deir el-Balah, central Gaza, say they’re no longer able to provide 700,000 people in the area with drinking water after running out of fuel.
“We urge citizens to preserve what is left in their private tankers and we stress the need to maintain the spirit of cooperation and sharing,” a statement said.
Speaking in the rubble of his family home in Deir el-Balah, Walid Thabet recounted how an Israeli strike killed his relatives. Rescue workers and neighbours sifted through the debris to search for survivors.
“My mother, an elderly woman, was sitting with me upstairs. She went downstairs and after five minutes I pulled her out from under the rubble. We also pulled my sister out and my sister’s children too,” said Thabet.
“Those who died are my mother, my sister, and my sister’s children. Children! One was two-and-a-half years old, and the other two.”
