UN official says at least 294 Palestinians killed by Israel while seeking aid in Gaza since June 30
A senior UN official said Wednesday that 294 Palestinians have been killed by Israel while attempting to collect humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip since June 30.
“I brief you today as intensive talks continue over a potential Gaza ceasefire agreement and release of hostages,” Khaled Khiari, UN assistant secretary-general for the Middle East and Asia and the Pacific, told the Security Council.
He said the situation in Gaza “continues to deteriorate, with Israeli military operations and hostilities expanding throughout the Strip and the human toll mounting by the hour.”
“This nightmare of historic proportions must end immediately,” he said.
Citing the Ministry of Health in Gaza, Khiari said at least 1,891 Palestinians have been killed since his last briefing on June 30. He said 294 were killed “while attempting to collect aid, including in the vicinity of militarized aid distribution sites.”
Khiari said it is “long past time for the fighting to end, for adequate humanitarian aid to enter the Strip, and for recovery and reconstruction to begin in the context of a return to a political path towards a two-state solution.”
He further stressed that repeated Israeli evacuation orders “causing the repeated displacement of the population,” and warned that “any forced displacement of the population from any part of the occupied Palestinian territory will constitute a breach of international law.”
“International humanitarian law must be respected by all parties at all times, and civilians must be protected,” Khiari added.