NEW YORK — U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-
moon condemned an attack that killed 10
people at a U.N. school in the Gaza Strip on
Sunday as "a moral outrage and a criminal act."
In his most strongly worded statement yet on
an attack against a U.N. facility in Gaza, Ban
called it "yet another gross violation of
international humanitarian law, which clearly
requires protection by both parties of
Palestinian civilians, U.N. staff and U.N.
premises, among other civilian facilities."
"This attack, along with other breaches of
international law, must be swiftly investigated
and those responsible held accountable. It is a
moral outrage and a criminal act," Ban said.
A Gaza health official said at least 10 people
were killed and 35 wounded after the strike
near the boys' school in Rafah. Several bodies,
among them children, were strewn inside the
U.N. school's compound. At least one U.N.
staffer was killed, said Robert Turner, the
director of operations for the U.N. Palestinian
refugee agency in Gaza.
Turner said preliminary findings indicated the
blast was an Israeli airstrike near the school.
At least six U.N. facilities have been struck by
Israeli fire since the conflict between Israel and
Hamas began. After an attack that killed at least
16 people at a U.N. school last week, Ban said
"nothing is more shameful than attacking
sleeping children."
In Sunday's statement, Ban reiterated that
Israel's military has "been repeatedly informed
of the location of these sites."
The Israeli military had no immediate comment
on the strike, which came as Israel signaled a
possible scaling back in the ongoing war.
The U.N. chief also expressed his frustration
with the unraveling of the 72-hour ceasefire last
weekend, which he had helped broker along
with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Ban
earlier blamed Hamas for violating the cease-
fire.
Ban spent six days in the Middle East last month
and countless hours on the phone with Israeli,
Palestinian and other leaders trying to broker an
end to the fighting.
He called on both sides to resume negotiations
for a ceasefire and negotiations in Cairo "to
address the underlying issues."
"This madness must stop," Ban said.
Source: abcnews.com
0 comments:
Post a Comment