NEW YORK: The UN has voiced concern over continued Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and rising settler violence in the West Bank, warning of civilian casualties and growing obstacles to humanitarian operations.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said reports indicated civilians had been killed in Gaza and that the Al-Aqsa Hospital complex had been damaged in an Israeli strike.
“We are particularly concerned about reports of civilian casualties, including a child in Gaza, as well as damage to the Al-Aqsa Hospital complex in Deir Al-Balah as a result of one of the strikes,” Dujarric told a news briefing.
He reiterated that civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, must be protected.
The UN and its humanitarian partners are preparing for Gaza’s rainy season, seeking to address flood risks in hundreds of locations across the territory, Dujarric said.
Those efforts are being hampered by funding shortages, Israeli restrictions on the entry and quantity of materials, and shortages of engine oil, spare parts and heavy machinery.
Humanitarian operations are also constrained by a lack of access to much of Gaza, including areas less vulnerable to flooding that could be used to accommodate tents, he said.
In the occupied West Bank, Dujarric said settler violence continued across several areas, including theft, arson, vandalism and physical attacks.
He cited an attack on a home in Qusra, near Nablus, less than half a kilometer from an area where three families have been left isolated following the establishment of a new settlement outpost.
Attacks by settlers and Israeli forces around Ramallah also injured 12 Palestinians and at times obstructed the movement of people and vehicles, including ambulances, Dujarric said.
The occupied West Bank has seen a sharp rise in attacks by Israeli forces and settlers, as well as demolitions and land seizures.
