UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed his “shock” at the Israeli attack that struck an ambulance outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip on Friday. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, which is affiliated with the Red Cross, 15 people were killed, and more than 60 others were injured in the vicinity of the Al Shifa hospital. Guterres found the images of bodies outside the hospital distressing. He acknowledged that while he has not forgotten about Hamas’s attacks in Israel, the civilian population in Gaza, including women and children, has been enduring a month-long siege with denied aid, casualties, and bombings. He emphasized the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza.
The Israeli military confirmed the attack, claiming that Hamas had used the ambulance to transport fighters and weapons. Palestinian authorities, on the other hand, stated that the ambulances were used to transport severely injured Palestinians to the border crossing near Rafah, which leads to Egypt.
The United Nations agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) has issued a warning that there is currently no safe place in the Gaza Strip, including the shelters provided by the United Nations. Since the beginning of the conflict between Israel and Hamas, nearly fifty UNRWA buildings have been affected, some of them directly hit by bombings.
Out of the 1.5 million displaced individuals in Gaza, 600,000 are seeking refuge in UNRWA reception facilities. According to Thomas White from UNRWA,
“The reality is that we cannot provide these people with security.” He emphasized that there is no safe place in Gaza at the moment.
Tragically, 38 people have lost their lives in UNRWA shelters since the conflict began, and in the Gaza Strip, 72 UNRWA employees have also lost their lives.
About the author: Jeff Roper
Jeff Roper has been teaching journalism for more than five years. A theorist who nevertheless took up some practice. He is fond of the history of journalism and journalism.
