Guterres “deeply disturbed” by the Israeli aggression on Gaza, “dismayed” by human casualties
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that he was “deeply disturbed” by the Israeli occupation’s aggression on the besieged Gaza Strip and expressed concern over civilian casualties.
The UN chief’s spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement that the Secretary General was “dismayed” by the increasing number of civilian casualties, including the death of 10 members of the same family, as a result of an Israeli airstrike on Friday on al-Shati’ Camp area in Gaza.
Dujarric added that Guterres was “deeply disturbed” by the Israeli airstrike yesterday on a building containing international media outlets that led to its destruction.
Tor Winsland, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East, and Ted Shiban, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, called for protecting civilians, particularly children at all times.
Their comments came after the martyrdom of many children in Gaza as a result of the Israeli continuous bombardment.
“I was horrified by the terrifying incident in the Al-Shati’ camp where eight Palestinian children were killed in an Israeli airstrike,” said Winsland, adding that 47 children have been killed in Gaza as a result of the Israeli strikes since May 10th.
He reiterated that children should not be the target of violence, calling for an immediate stop of the “acts of hostilities”.
Shiban, on his part, said that 47 children have been killed in Gaza and dozens others in the West Bank, not to mention thousands of injuries and the destruction of schools and infrastructure.
Hamda Mustafa