UN’s Middle East envoy condemns ‘appalling’ Israeli attack on Beit Lahiya
Tor Wennesland said he was appalled by Israel’s attack that killed at least 93 people, including 25 children, in Beit Lahiya early on Tuesday.
“This horrific strike is yet another in a deadly series of recent mass casualty incidents, alongside a massive displacement campaign, in the north of Gaza that raises serious concerns about violations of international humanitarian law,” the UN’s envoy for the Middle East Peace Process said in a statement.
“I unequivocally condemn the widespread killing and injury of civilians in Gaza, and the endless displacement of the population in Gaza,” he said. “This endless spiral of death and destruction must end immediately”.
Palestinian first responders remove a body from the rubble of a building following an Israeli strike in Beit Lahiya, in the northern Gaza Strip, on October 29
Qatari ambassador addresses UNSC as Israel escalates attacks
Qatar’s representative to the UN, Sheikha Alya Ahmed bin Saif Al Thani, accused Israel of “clear violations of the Geneva Conventions” on Tuesday as she addressed the Security Council in a meeting focused on the ongoing crisis in the Middle East.
The council convened as Israeli air strikes continue unabated in northern Gaza, resulting in dozens of deaths over recent days and amid a weeks-long siege of the area.
UN records seven ‘mass casualty incidents’ in Gaza in one week
The UN’s humanitarian agency (OCHA) said the seven incidents took place between the afternoons of October 22 and 29. They are:
- October 24: Between 150-200 people were killed or wounded when Israeli forces bombed a residential block of 11 houses in the northern Jabalia refugee camp.
- October 24: At least 17 Palestinians, including nine children, were killed and 52 others wounded in an Israeli attack on the Ash Shuhada school in the central Nuseirat refugee camp.
- October 24-24: Thirty-eight Palestinians were killed and tens of others, mostly women and children, were wounded when Israeli forces destroyed several residential buildings during an operation in the Qizan an-Najjar and al-Manara areas in southern Khan Younis. About 20 people are reported missing.
- October 25: Twenty-five people were killed when Israeli forces bombed two houses in northern Beit Lahiya.
- October 26: At least 30 people were killed and dozens wounded after Israeli forces hit a residential block in Beit Lahiya.
- October 27: Eleven Palestinians, including a girl and four women, were killed when Israeli forces attacked the UNRWA-run Asma school in the Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza.
- October 29: At least 93 Palestinians were killed or missing following another Israeli attack on a residential building in Beit Lahiya
The list does not include Israel’s latest attack on Beit Lahiya on Tuesday evening which killed at least 19 Palestinians.
OCHA said Israeli attacks on Gaza have killed at least 14 aid workers and four health workers since October 3. These include seven UNRWA staff and seven staff of national and international NGOs.
Since Israel launched its war on Gaza last year, Israeli attacks have killed at least 322 aid workers, including 315 Palestinians and seven foreigners. The number includes 237 UN staff, 33 Palestinian Red Crescent Society staff and volunteers, and at least 52 other aid workers with national and international NGOs, OCHA said.
