“EThese developments further compromise humanitarian access and worsen an already tragic situation,” added Farhan Haq, who also denounced the “indiscriminate” firing of rocket launchers by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas.
In the same statements, the spokesperson reiterated calls for the protection of the entire civilian population of the Gaza Strip.
In parallel, the United States Government expressed concern about the attack on a UN vehicle in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, which caused the death of a foreign worker who was part of the United Nations security and protection service (UNDSS). This was the first death of an international UN employee in Palestinian territory since the start of the war, on October 7, 2023.
“The United States is deeply concerned by the attack on a United Nations vehicle in Gaza that killed one aid worker and injured another,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said today on the social network X.
The UN stated that the vehicle was hit on the way to the European hospital in Rafah.
The UN spokesman in Geneva, Rolando Gomez, also stated today that António Guterres had “called for a full investigation” of this case.
“We want those responsible to be held accountable. (…). International humanitarian workers are not targets. These attacks must stop,” he said.
The ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip was triggered by the attack by the Islamist group Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, which caused around 1,200 deaths and two hundred hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
Since then, Israel has launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip that has caused more than 35,000 deaths, according to Hamas, which has governed the small Palestinian enclave since 2007.
Israeli retaliation is causing a serious humanitarian crisis in Gaza, with more than 1.1 million people in a “situation of catastrophic hunger” that is already claiming victims – “the highest number ever recorded” by the UN in studies on food security in the world.
Rafah, on the border with Egypt, is the main crossing point for humanitarian aid to Gaza and where more than a million displaced Palestinians from other areas of the territory have taken refuge.
Despite international appeals, Israel maintains military action in Rafah, where it says the last active units of the Palestinian extremist group Hamas are located.
Read Also: UN: Rafah offensive displaces 20% of Gaza’s population in a week
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Source: https://www.noticiasaominuto.com/mundo/2560631/guterres-esta-chocado-com-intensificacao-de-ataques-israelitas-em-rafah
