UN calls Rafah invasion war crime
The UN aid coordination office (OCHA) warned on Tuesday that Israel’s invasion of the densely populated southern city of Rafah would constitute a war crime.
“We, as the UN and member states, can bear witness,” OCHA spokesperson Jens Laerke told journalists. “We can make it clear that under international humanitarian law, indiscriminate bombing of densely populated areas may amount to war crimes.”
The concerns arose as OCHA reported an “increase in strikes” in Rafah governorate, with thousands of Gazans seeking refuge in the city, including those fleeing intense fighting in Khan Yunis.
“To be clear, intensified hostilities in Rafah in this situation could lead to a large-scale loss of civilian lives, and we must do everything possible within our power to avoid that,” Laerke said. He urged the international community to make every possible effort to avoid such a scenario as continued heavy fighting in Khan Yunis forced many more to seek refuge in Rafah.
Della Longa from the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) reported that 8,000 Gazans had left Al Amal hospital after Israeli authorities guaranteed safe passage. The IFRC spokesperson described the situation in Gaza as “beyond catastrophic,” mourning the death of aid worker HedayaHamad from the Palestine Red Crescent Society.
Al Amal hospital, facing shortages of medicine, food, and water, is surrounded by heavy shelling, making access for ambulances nearly impossible. Almost 100 people, including elderly patients and those with disabilities, remain trapped inside.
“I don’t even want to think about the possibility of whether Al Amal will close in the next coming days,” said the IFRC spokesperson, noting that the same scenario had played out at another hospital, Al Quds, in Gaza City, which the PCRS declared closed on Nov 12.
“The reality is that if the situation does not change, it will be very difficult to continue the activities in the hospital.”
In an update on Tuesday, Gaza’s health ministry said 27,585 Palestinians had been confirmed dead in Israel’s bombardment over the past four months, with thousands more feared buried under vast tracts of rubble across the densely populated enclave. Israel says 226 of its soldiers have been killed in four months, Reuters and AFP add.
Israeli tanks and aircraft continued to pound and besiege areas around Khan Yunis’s two main hospitals — Nasser and Al Amal — while forces claiming to have killed 14 Palestinians in air strikes during the past 24 hours.
A Lebanese security official identified the target as Hamas recruitment officer BasselSaleh. Shortly after the initial strike on Saleh’s car, a second Israeli drone hit the same location, killing two people, the official said. Hezbollah said one of its members had died.
Saleh “survived but suffered burns on his back and was admitted to hospital”, the Lebanese official said.
The official added Saleh is “in charge of a recruitment unit in the West Bank”, occupied by Israel since 1967.
A Hamas official in Lebanon said that no member of the group had been killed in the Jadra attack.
An official with the Lebanese Risala Scout association, which operates rescue teams and is affiliated with the Hezbollah-allied Amal movement, said that two civilians had been killed.
But Hezbollah later announced one of its members had been killed by Israeli fire. A source close to the group said the man, Khalil Fares, was one of the two people killed in his town of Jadra.
There was no immediate comment from Israel.