Red Cross chief decries ‘lack of humanity’

Israel struck one of the largest residential towers in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on March 9, residents said, stepping up pressure on the last area of the enclave it has not yet invaded and where over a million displaced Palestinians are sheltering.

The 12floor building, located some 500m from the border with Egypt, was damaged in the strike. Dozens of families were made homeless though no casualties were reported, according to residents.

One of the tower’s 300 residents said that Israel gave them a 30minute warning to flee the building at night.

A Rafahbased official with the Fatah party said he feared that hitting the

Debris is seen around a damaged AlMasry Tower after Israeli air strikes in Rafah on Saturday.

Rafah tower was a sign of an imminent Israeli invasion.

Nearly 31,000 dead

Five months into Israel’s war on Gaza, health authorities said nearly 31,000 Palestinians had been killed, over 72,500 were wounded and thousands were trapped under rubble.

Three Palestinian children died of dehydration and malnutrition at the northern Al Shifa Hospital overnight.

Negotiations on a ceasefire and the release of 134 hostages still in Gaza seemed to stall ahead of the hopedfor deadline, the Muslim holy month of Ramzan, which begins on or around March 10.

The war in Gaza has “ruptured any sense of a shared humanity,” the head of the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Saturday. ICRC head Mirjana Spoljaric called for an urgent ceasefire in Gaza, saying Israel and Hamas must respect international law and protect civilians caught up in their conflict.

She said that getting a steady, substantial flow of desperately needed aid into the besieged Palestinian territory — where the UN says more than 90% of the population is on the brink of famine — was “only part of the solution”.

“Preserving civilian life and health is the rule, not the exception,” she said.