Israel-Palestine conflict: UN chief 'deeply disturbed' by destruction of media offices in Gaza City
May 16, 2021
New York [US], May 16 : UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is deeply disturbed by the destruction of a high-rise building in Gaza City, by an Israeli airstrike, that housed the offices of several international media organizations, said Stephan Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General in a statement on Sunday.
In a statement, Dujarric said added that "The Secretary-General is dismayed by the increasing number of civilian casualties, including the death of ten members of the same family, including children, as a result of an Israeli airstrike last night in the al-Shati camp in Gaza, purportedly aimed at a Hamas leader,"
"The Secretary-General reminds all sides that any indiscriminate targeting of civilians and media structures violates international law and must be avoided at all costs," the spokesperson said.
This comes after the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they had struck a 15-story building that housed a number of international media such as the Associated Press and Al-Jazeera.
The IDF said the building was used by Hamas as their intelligence headquarters, among other things, Sputnik reported. The Israeli forces said sufficient time was given to people to leave the building before the attack.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council will meet on Sunday to discuss the ongoing crisis. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres will address ambassadors, who will also be briefed by Tor Wennesland, UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process.
On Saturday, the Israeli army said that a total of 2,800 rockets had been fired toward Israel from Gaza in the past days, with 430 of the projectiles having fallen within the Gaza Strip. The Israeli military said it has launched strikes against over 672 military targets in the Gaza Strip.
Several civilians and at least one soldier have been killed in Israel amid the exchange of rocket attacks. Meanwhile, Palestine has reported over 140 deaths, including more than 40 among children. According to the Palestinian Red Crescent, more than 1,300 Palestinians have been injured.
The situation on the border between Israel and the Palestinian Gaza Strip has been deteriorating for the last week. Earlier this month, the escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict started when the unrest began in East Jerusalem over an Israeli court's decision to evict several Palestinian families from the area.
