The office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Gaza, which is surrounded by hundreds of displaced people, was on Friday the target of attacks with “large caliber projectiles” that left 22 dead and 45 injured, this organization said. §tion.
“This incident caused a mass flow of victims to the nearby Red Cross field hospital”, detailed the ICRC in a note on the social network X where it did not specify the perpetrators of the attack.
The Israeli Army on Friday intensified its attacks in the Gaza Strip, in which at least 30 Palestinians were killed, according to data from authorities in Gaza, an enclave controlled by the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas,
A spokesperson for the Israeli Army told France-Presse (AFP) that “an initial investigation suggests that there is nothing to indicate that an attack was carried out by the IDF (Forces of Israel Defense) in the humanitarian zone of Al-Mawasi”, northwest of Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.
“The incident is being investigated,” the spokesperson added.
The ICRC highlighted that Friday afternoon’s attacks with “large-caliber projectiles” fell meters from the organization’s offices and residences, causing damage.
“Attacking so dangerously close to humanitarian structures, located in sites that conflict actors are aware of and that are clearly marked with the Red Cross symbol, puts the lives of civilians and humanitarian workers at risk”, he highlighted. §or the ICRC.
“This serious security incident is the most recent of several in recent days. Previously stray bullets had hit ICRC structures. We condemn these incidents,” he added, recalling that in accordance with international humanitarian law, Parties to the conflict must take precautions to avoid civilian casualties, including in humanitarian buildings.
More than 1.5 million people have been displaced since October 7, 2023 in this Palestinian enclave due to the conflict between Israel and Hamas.
According to Ahmed Radwan, civil defense spokesman in Rafah, witnesses reported to emergency teams that two locations were bombed, located in a coastal area that was filled with tents housing displaced civilians.
The location of the bombings occurred within the limits of the designated “security zone” imposed by Israel. Previously, the Israeli Army had already reached several locations near the “humanitarian zone” of Muwasi, a rural region along the Mediterranean coast where in recent months it has welcomed, in tents, thousands of displaced Palestinians, stated the North American news agency Associated Press.
In the city of Gaza, Israeli planes also bombed a residence in Beach Camp, west of the city, causing 10 deaths and 17 injuries, who were sent to a local hospital.
The ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip was triggered by the attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Israeli soil on October 7, 2023, which caused around 1,200 deaths and two hundred hostages, according to Israeli authorities.
Since then, Tel Aviv has launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip that has so far caused more than 37,000 deaths and more than 85,000 injuries, according to authorities in the Palestinian enclave, controlled by Hamas since 2007.
