A UN representative reports on the "worst scenes" in Gaza
After the Israeli air raid on the Gaza Strip, UN representative Anderson speaks of terrible scenes. He calls for better protection of civilians. According to Palestinian reports, hundreds were injured and dozens were killed.
After the Israeli air raid in the southern Gaza Strip, UN representative Scott Anderson spoke of some of the most distressing scenes he had seen in the Gaza Strip in the past nine months. At the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Khan Younis, which he had visited, there were not enough beds, many patients were lying on the floor and without adequate disinfection possibilities, said the Director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in Gaza.
Desperate parents had told him that they had moved into the humanitarian zone in the hope that their children would be safe there, said Anderson. He urged that civilians be protected at all times. A ceasefire was urgently needed, and the hostages still held in Gaza must be released.
Hamas Chief Strategist in Israeli Crosshairs
The Israeli army targeted the military wing of Hamas, Mohammed Deif, the commander, in the Gaza Strip on Saturday, killing and injuring dozens of people. It was initially unclear whether Deif was killed or injured in the air raid.
According to Palestinian reports, at least 90 people were killed in the Israeli military operation. At least 300 more were injured in the Al-Mawasi humanitarian zone, according to the health authority controlled by Hamas. These reports could not be independently verified at first.
A representative of the Israeli military later admitted in a briefing that the targeted object was located in the humanitarian zone west of Khan Younis. "But it was a fortified, guarded Hamas base, occupied by terrorists," he added. These statements could also not be independently verified at the time.
Hamas at the Negotiation Table
Israel is currently engaged in a proposal by the radical Islamic terrorist organization Hamas for the release of hostages and a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. This is clear from a statement by the Mossad intelligence service, which was published by the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The radical-Islamic Hamas militia has not withdrawn from the negotiations over a ceasefire in the Middle East, according to a high-ranking representative. Egyptian security sources reported that the negotiations in Doha and Cairo were suspended on Saturday after three days of intense negotiation rounds.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has expressed concern over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and called for an independent investigation into alleged war crimes, citing reports of civilian casualties and damage to infrastructure in the Gaza Strip.
The UN War Crimes Tribunal has been urged to investigate the Israel-Gaza conflict, with many international human rights organizations and countries accusing Israel of disproportionate use of force against Palestinian civilians and potential war crimes.
The United Nations and various international bodies have condemned Israeli settlement construction in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem, which is seen as a major obstacle to peace and a violation of international law.
Political leaders from around the world have urged for a de-escalation of the conflict and a return to negotiations, with many calling for an end to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which has gone on for decades and resulted in countless deaths and displacements.
The Gaza Strip, which is home to over 2 million Palestinians, has been under a blockade by Israel for over a decade, resulting in a dire humanitarian situation with high levels of unemployment and poverty, as well as limited access to basic services such as healthcare and education.
Meanwhile, the Israeli government has accused Hamas, the militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, of using civilians as human shields and launching rockets from residential areas, which has further complicated efforts to achieve a peace agreement between the two sides.
