TRANSCRIPT
The United Nations has condemned this week's attack ((Sep 11)) by Israeli forces on a school run by the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA that left six of its staff members dead.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric says the attack killed at least 18 people, including the UNRWA staff, women and children.
He says it took the total number of UNRWA staff killed in the conflict to 220.
"The Israeli Defense Forces have stated that they had targeted a commanding control center in the compound. This incident must be independently and thoroughly investigated to ensure accountability. The continued lack of effective protection for civilians in Gaza is unconscionable. Civilians and the infrastructure they rely on must be protected, and meet the essential needs of the civilian population. The Secretary-General calls upon all parties to refrain from using schools from using shelters in areas around them for military purposes. All parties to the conflict have the obligation to comply with international humanitarian law at all times."
Israeli officials claim that some of the UNRWA staff who were killed were part of Hamas.
The Jerusalem Post is reporting that the Israeli Defence Force has named three of the UNRWA staff as being among nine terrorists it says were killed in the attack.
Mr Dujarric neither confirmed nor denied the claim.
"We have no way of, we're not in a position to confirm it, to deny it. Our focus is on humanitarian help. What is clear to us is that no one in this conflict and all parties, and I do mean all parties, should never use civilian infrastructure as a place from which to launch attacks, to target attacks. The use of human shields is condemned, has been condemned and we will continue in that direction."
White House spokeswoman Karine Jean-Pierre was also asked about the possibility that some of the dead UNRWA workers were members of Hamas.
She says they're seeking more information
"So what I can say is obviously we're aware of the IDF strike in Gaza and we are indeed concerned about there are reports of civilian casualties. So we are concerned about that. We're in touch with our Israeli counterparts to get more information on what happened."
The World Health Organization has announced that the United Arab Emirates has evacuated nearly 100 critically wounded and sick Palestinians in Gaza, including cancer patients, for medical treatment in the Gulf Arab state.
Dr. Rik Peeperkorn is the WHO representative for the occupied Palestinian Territory.
He says much more is needed.
"We need a medical corridor to be restored, a traditional referral pathway from Gaza to East Jerusalem and West Bank to be restored soon as possible. We need a referral pathway to Egypt and perhaps Jordan and of course other countries which are ready to receive Gazan patients. We still estimate that more than 10,000 Gazans need to be medically evacuated, half of them probably to war-related, trauma-related injuries, the other half the chronic patients."
In the midst of the humanitarian crisis, the UN is also warning that the Palestinian economy is facing severe difficulties.
The UN Trade and Development agency says Gaza's economy has shrunk to less than a sixth of its pre-war size since the Israel-Hamas conflict began nearly a year ago while unemployment in the occupied West Bank has nearly tripled.
Spokesman Pedro Manuel Moreno says Gaza's economy is 'in ruins' and the Palestinian economy is not much better.
“Withheld revenues, together with a sharp decline in international aid, have crippled the government's ability to function. Public employees have not been paid full salaries since November 2021, and essential services are at risk of collapse. The Palestinian economy is in freefall.”
He's calling for the international community to halt this economic freefall, address the humanitarian crisis, and lay the groundwork for lasting peace and development.
Meanwhile EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has been meeting with Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati and Lebanese Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri during a two-day visit to Lebanon.
He's urged Lebanon and Israel to work on deescalating tensions along the border.
"Since I last visited Lebanon in January, the drums of war have not stopped pounding. And since then, the fears I was outlining has been growing, more escalation, fears of regional spill over in the war in Gaza and fears of more widespread human suffering."
