Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, said in a statement on Friday evening that he was “horrified” by the Israeli attack on an ambulance convoy outside Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza.
“I am horrified by the reported attack in Gaza on an ambulance convoy outside Al Shifa hospital. The images of bodies strewn on the street outside the hospital are harrowing,” Guterres said, adding: “This must stop.”
Guterres went on to say that the humanitarian situation in Gaza is horrific.
A series of Israeli attacks targeted Palestinian hospitals and medical staff in Gaza on Friday night.
Three hospitals were attacked. They include Al-Shifa Hospital, Al-Quds Hospital, and the Indonesian Hospital. https://t.co/Myw6rVevMf pic.twitter.com/Yr6AYkOeo7
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 3, 2023
“Not nearly enough food, water and medicine are coming in to meet people’s needs. Fuel to power hospitals and water plants is running out,” he said, adding:
“Morgues are overflowing. Shops are empty. The sanitation situation is abysmal. We are seeing an increase in diseases and respiratory illnesses, especially among children. An entire population is traumatized. Nowhere is safe.”
A series of Israeli attacks targeted Palestinian hospitals and medical staff in Gaza on Friday night.
Three hospitals were attacked. They include Al-Shifa Hospital, Al-Quds Hospital, and the Indonesian Hospital.
The director of Al-Shifa Medical Complex said that “a massacre in front of the compound as a result of the Israeli shelling” is a “full-fledged crime.”
While the war continues to target Palestinian civilians, the Gaza resistance is preventing the Israeli military from establishing safe military zones inside the Strip.https://t.co/gd9gqcNE6f pic.twitter.com/AQV0qsbVUr
— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 4, 2023
He said that Israel had targeted the gate of the complex, where medical staff and hundreds of displaced civilians were gathered.
He also said that medical teams and paramedics were killed in front of the hospital when their ambulance convoy was struck, even though the convoy movement was coordinated with the Red Cross.
Renewing his appeals for a humanitarian ceasefire, Guterres reiterated that international humanitarian law must be respected.
“All those with influence must exert it to ensure respect for the rules of war, end the suffering and avoid a spillover of the conflict that could engulf the whole region,” he concluded.
Israel has, thus far, killed over 9,488 Palestinians in Gaza, including nearly 3,900 children and 2,500 women, and wounded more than 23,516. Palestinian Ministry of Health reports and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
GAZA HEALTH MINISTRY: The number of Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes since October 7 has risen to 9,488. 70% of the victims of the aggression are women and children.
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— The Palestine Chronicle (@PalestineChron) November 4, 2023
Despite a massive Israeli military buildup around the Gaza borders and sporadic infiltrations on the outskirts of the besieged Strip, Palestinian Resistance continues to repel Israeli attacks.
To justify its military failure, the Israeli army continues to pound civilian homes throughout the Gaza Strip with new massacres reported everywhere in the besieged enclave.
Gaza has been under a tight Israeli military siege since 2007, following a democratic election in occupied Palestine, the results of which were rejected by Tel Aviv and Washington.
(The Palestine Chronicle)
