United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk expressed concern about Israeli calls for Palestinians to leave the Gaza Strip.
“I am very concerned about the statements made by senior Israeli officials about plans to transfer civilians from Gaza to third countries,” the Austrian lawyer said.
The United Nations (UN) human rights chief added that international law “prohibits the forced transfer of protected persons or deportation from occupied territories.”
On the other hand, Cogat, the Israeli Defense Ministry's body responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, once again accused the United Nations of not doing enough to bring humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.
“We cannot continue to ignore the facts: there is no such thing as collective punishment. Two crossings are open. They say you can take 200 trucks a day to Kerem Shalom, but you can’t even take 100,” the agency said.
Addressing the conflict in the Palestinian enclave, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni called on Israel to “preserve the security” of civilians in Gaza.
Fights
The Palestinian Red Crescent headquarters in Khan Yunis was bombed by Israeli forces, leaving one person dead and six others injured.
The Palestinian city has also been the target of heavy fighting in recent days, particularly inside the Islamist fundamentalist group Hamas's military tunnels, which stretched for hundreds of meters.
“During these clashes, five terrorists surrendered and handed themselves over to Israeli soldiers. During interrogations, they reported that many of their comrades were killed in secret operations, including the commanders of two platoons,” a military spokesman said.
The Al Jazeera network, in turn, reported that there was “constant shelling” near the AlMawasi evacuation zone.
US
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken will return to the Middle East today and visit several countries including Israel, a US official said. .