The United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned Israel’s latest air strikes on an Israeli-designated zone for displaced people in Gaza.
Recall that on Monday night, at least 19 people were killed and more than 60 others were injured after Israel airstrikes targeted the densely populated al-Mawasi tent camp in the southern Gaza city of Khan Younis.
The space, which the Israeli military has designated a “humanitarian area,” houses tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians who had fled Israeli bombardments in other parts of the Gaza Strip.
In his reaction to the airstrikes by Israel, Guterres in a post on his X handle late on Tuesday night, condemned Israel’s latest onslaught in Gaza.
According to him, “I strongly condemn Israel’s air strikes on an Israeli-designated zone for displaced people in Gaza.
“Palestinians had moved to this area in search for shelter and safety, after being repeatedly instructed to do so by the Israeli authorities.”
The UN boss also repeated his earlier calls for the immediate ceasefire as well as the release of all hostages held in Gaza.
“I repeat my call for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate & unconditional release of all hostages still held in Gaza.”
Meanwhile, there have been claims and counter-claims by Israel, Gaza and Hamas following the strikes.
Gaza Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal cited large craters left in the strikes’ wake, saying, “There are entire families who have disappeared under the sand in the Mawasi Khan Younis massacre.”
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on their part, claimed the operation targeted Hamas militants “operating within a command-and-control center embedded inside the humanitarian area,”.
Hamas called this claim a “blatant lie.”
The strikes, Israel added, were specifically targeted at Samer Ismail Khadr Abu Daqqa, the head of Hamas’s aerial unit in Gaza; Osama Tabesh, the head of the observation and targets department in Hamas’s military branch; and Ayman Mabhouh, a senior Hamas militant—all of whom the IDF claimed were “directly involved in the execution” of Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel and had planned to “carry out terror activities” against the country.
Israel disclosed that the military used “precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional means,” in order to mitigate the the strikes’ civilian harm.
Reports claim Israeli attacks in Gaza have killed more than 41,000 Palestinians and injured nearly 95,000 others since the war began 11 months ago.
Reports also say al-Mawasi was designated a humanitarian zone in December 2023 by the Israeli military and Palestinians were told multiple times to temporarily relocate there to avoid heavy fighting in other parts of Gaza.
