The UN Secretary-General said he was horrified by the killing of hundreds of civilians following a strike on a hospital in Gaza on Tuesday. In a tweet, António Guterres strongly condemned the strike, adding that his heart is with the families of those who died.
AMN
The United Nations have expressed horror and strong condemnation over the killing of hundreds of civilians in a strike on a hospital in Gaza, underscoring that attack on hospitals or civilian infrastructure is against international humanitarian law and called for holding those responsible to account.
Earlier, the U.N. Security Council scheduled a vote on a resolution that initially condemned the terrorist attacks by Hamas on Israel as well as all violence against civilians, while calling for humanitarian pauses to deliver desperately needed aid to millions in Gaza. Negotiations on the draft resolution by Brazil have continued, and the final version to be voted upon is still pending. However, the U.N. Security Council rejected a Russian resolution that condemned violence and terrorism against civilians but made no mention of Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel.
The UN human rights chief described the strike on the hospital as “totally unacceptable”.
“We don’t yet know the full scale of this carnage but what is clear is that the violence and killings must stop at once,” said High Commissioner Volker Türk in a statement.
Displaced civilians were reportedly seeking shelter at the hospital, following Israel’s order to evacuate to the south in advance of what is expected to be a ground assault.
“WHO strongly condemns the attack,” agency chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus wrote in a post on the social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
“We call for the immediate protection of civilians and healthcare, and for the evacuation orders to be reversed,” he added.
Human rights chief Türk said hospitals are sacrosanct and must be protected at all cost, adding that “those found responsible must be held to account.”
On Tuesday night in New York, the United Arab Emirates said they along with Russia have called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting on Palestine, including the strike on the hospital in Gaza City.
Evacuation order ‘impossible to carry out’
Al-Ahli Arab Hospital was operational, with patients, health and caregivers, and internally displaced people sheltering there, WHO said in a statement.
It was one of 20 hospitals in the north of the Gaza Strip facing evacuation orders from the Israeli military.
“The order for evacuation has been impossible to carry out given the current insecurity, critical condition of many patients, and lack of ambulances, staff, health system bed capacity, and alternative shelter for those displaced,” WHO said.
The UN agency appealed for the immediate active protection of civilians and healthcare. “Evacuation orders must be reversed. International humanitarian law must be abided by, which means health care must be actively protected and never targeted.”
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) also took to social media to condemn the strike.
“Attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure must cease, and healthcare facilities must never be a target,” the UN’s reproductive and sexual health agency posted on X.
Not even hospitals are safe
Gaza has a population of more than two million and the crisis has displaced some 600,000 people. Many have sought safety in hospitals which are already overwhelmed with rising casualties and deaths, and as fuel and medical supplies dwindle.
Dr. Richard Peeperkorn, WHO Representative in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, highlighted the dilemma facing people on the run.
“They go to these hospitals because they expect they are safe places. Now, even a hospital is not a safe place anymore, what is?” he wondered.