At least 17 employees of the UN Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas, its head Philippe Lazzarini said on Saturday.
“So far, 17 of our colleagues have been confirmed dead in this brutal war. Unfortunately, the actual number is likely to be higher,” the UNRWA Commissioner General wrote in a press release. Some “were killed at home while sleeping with their families,” the official said.
“I emphasize that since the outbreak of war on October 7, UNRWA has regularly provided geolocation of its entire infrastructure in the Gaza Strip to all parties involved. However, at least 35 buildings have been hit so far, some of them through direct attacks,” lamented Philippe Lazzarini.
“In the Gaza Strip, incessant airstrikes and bombings, coupled with evacuation orders from the Israeli armed forces, have led to the displacement of a million people and caused the deaths of far too many civilians,” says Philippe Lazzarini, who calls for “urgent humanitarian ceasefire”.
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The manager notes that his agency’s facilities are “now overcrowded” and 500,000 people have found refuge there.
“I remind all parties once again of their legal and non-negotiable obligation to protect the lives of civilians at all times and everywhere and to refrain from attacks on civilian infrastructure, including schools, hospitals, places of worship and civilian homes, including those of UNRWA employees,” he demanded.
More than 1,400 people have been killed by Hamas men on Israeli territory since October 7th. The majority of civilians were shot down, burned alive or mutilated on the first day of the attack by fighters from the Palestinian Islamist movement from Gaza. according to Israeli authorities.
According to the Israeli army, around 1,500 Hamas fighters were killed in the counteroffensive, allowing them to regain control of the areas attacked.
According to the Hamas Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 4,100 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed in the Gaza Strip by incessant bombing by the Israeli army.