Gaza / Airstrike on UNRWA headquarters – The war will continue, Netanyahu said

Israeli airstrikes on UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City resulted in the death of at least eight people and the injury of dozens of others.

The Israeli airstrike hit the main gate of the UNRWA compound in Gaza in the north of the enclave, while hundreds of displaced people were there. The attack by the Israeli armed forces targeted the humanitarian aid distribution department, and according to reports, four of the organization’s volunteers were among the dead.

The Israeli bombardment of the aid distribution centre at the @UNRWA headquarters in Gaza City. Several people—among them 4 aid volunteers—killed. Destroying UNRWA to enforce starvation and create conditions of death has become an obsession. pic.twitter.com/GazAMPaQxN

—Nicola Perugini (@PeruginiNic) June 23, 2024

Five people have been confirmed dead so far, while dismembered bodies have been found, according to the Palestinian WAFA news agency. Among the injured are children and women, who were taken to Al-Ahli Hospital.

The Israeli armed forces (IDF) said the site, which it said previously served as UNRWA headquarters, has been used by Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters. They even claimed that precautions had been taken before the strike to reduce the risk of civilian casualties.

“This morning (Sunday), IAF fighter jets directed by the intelligence services of the IDF and the ISA struck terrorist infrastructure where Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were operating,” the military said in a statement.

This was one of many repeated attacks by the Israeli armed forces on aid agencies and UN facilities, including schools and hospitals, despite international outcry and calls for an immediate ceasefire and increased aid to prevent deadly consequences of the blockade of food, fuel and medicine in Gaza.

On Saturday, there was also an attack on a facility of the International Red Cross, with the high representative of the E.U. for Foreign Policy, Josep Borrell, to call for an independent investigation to hold those responsible accountable.

According to UNRWA, since the start of the war there have been 445 reported attacks by the Israeli military that damaged 188 different UN facilities. At least 500 displaced Palestinians were killed while sheltering in the facility, with 1,547 injured.

The war will continue

More than 37,000 Palestinians and more than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), since October 7, 2023.

There has been outrage since yesterday when a video, widely circulated on social media, shows a jeep with a man tied to the hood driving past two ambulances. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the incident today, a day after it happened, sparking strong reactions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tonight announced that heavy fighting against Hamas was coming to an end, but stressed that the war would not end until the Palestinian organization lost control of the Gaza Strip.

When the fierce fighting in Gaza ends, Netanyahu said, Israel will be able to deploy more forces to the northern border with Lebanon, where clashes with the Shiite militant group Hezbollah have escalated.

“After the heavy fighting phase is over, we will be able to move some forces to the north. And we will do this, mainly for defensive reasons. In addition, to bring our citizens (who were forced to flee due to the conflicts) back to their homes,” Netanyahu said in an interview with Israel’s Channel 14 television network.

“If possible, we will achieve it diplomatically. If not, we will do it another way. But we will bring the citizens back to their homes,” he stressed.

Many Israeli towns near the border with Lebanon have been evacuated during the clashes.

Netanyahu also reiterated his refusal to accept the idea that the Palestinian Authority, based in the West Bank, could take over the administration of the Gaza Strip in place of Hamas.