Israeli forces use explosives in crowded areas: UN Coordinator
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The UN Special Coordinator highlighted significant damage caused to neighborhoods by these weapons, including hospitals, civilian infrastructure, schools, mosques, and UN buildings.
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Destroyed buildings stand by the coast of the Gaza Strip as seen from the Mediterranean Sea, Tuesday, June 25, 2024 (AP Photo)
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland expressed grave concern on Tuesday over the dire situation in Gaza, confirming reports of Israeli forces using explosive weapons in densely populated areas.
In a letter to the President and the members of the Security Council, Wennesland highlighted significant damage caused to neighborhoods by these weapons, including hospitals, civilian infrastructure, schools, mosques, and UN buildings.
He underscored that ongoing hostilities in Gaza are worsening regional instability, predicting severe impacts on civilians and a deepening humanitarian crisis.
Wennesland called for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza, where he says "where nowhere is safe," and the need to address conditions affecting over 1.7 million displaced persons in Gaza.
He further warned about insufficient levels of essential goods, including humanitarian aid, allowed into Gaza to meet basic needs.
Read more: Dutch defense chief slams 'Israel' for actions in Rafah
On this note, Wennesland urged all parties to take immediate steps to de-escalate the situation, cautioning that military escalation would only lead to further catastrophic consequences for the region. He expressed concern about the escalating tensions, particularly between Hezbollah and "Israel."
Regarding the occupied West Bank, Wennesland also expressed concern about the ongoing expansion of illegal settlements, stating that all settlements in the West Bank lack legal validity and constitute flagrant violations of international law.
UN deplores Israeli ‘lawless behavior'
Last Sunday, the UN human rights office condemned "Israel's" "lawless behavior" in the Strip and the occupied West Bank.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) announced the denunciation in a statement, criticizing the recent Israeli strikes on the al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza, killing at least 50 Palestinians.
These "attacks appear to be disproportionate in that they would be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, and damage to civilian objects excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated," according to the bureau.
Earlier today, the Ministry of Health in the Gaza Strip reported that the death toll risen to 37,658 martyrs and 86,237 injuries since October 7th last year.
In its daily report, the ministry confirmed that on the 263rd of the Israeli genocidal war against the Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation forces committed 3 massacres killing 32 Palestinians and injuring at least 139 others.
Palestinian victims remain trapped under the rubble at several locations with ambulances and civil defense crews either prevented from or incapable of reaching them to provide them with medical assistance and transport them to the remaining, albeit overcrowded and most nonfunctional, hospitals.
![In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had "engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)](https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/media/image/2024/12/21/b4a69f2e-8682-43e4-9d37-49482b304ab3/3.png?v=2&format=webp "In a 2021 interview with Frontline by former US special representative James Jeffrey, he says he had \"engaged with [HTS] via backchannels while serving in President Trump’s State Department. (Al Mayadeen English; Illustrated by Batoul Chamas)")
