WHO slams Israel for ‘forcing women and children to evacuate on foot' as Gaza strikes kill 12

News24

5 days ago

Israel fire killed 12 in Gaza.
The WHO said Israel attacked its staff residence.
Britain and more than 20 other countries called for an end to the war in Gaza.
Israeli tank shelling killed at least 12 Palestinians and wounded dozens of others in a tent encampment in western Gaza City north of the enclave, local health authorities said early on Tuesday.
Medics said the tanks stationed north of Shati camp fired two shells at tents, housing displaced families, killing at least 12 people.
There has been no immediate comment from the Israeli military on the incident.
The World Health Organisation said the Israeli military attacked its staff residence and main warehouse in the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah on Monday, compromising its operations in Gaza.
The United Nations agency said the WHO staff residence was attacked three times, with airstrikes causing a fire and extensive damage, and endangering staff and their families, including children.
Israeli tanks pushed into southern and eastern districts of Deir al-Balah for the first time on Monday, an area where Israeli sources said the military believes hostages may be held.
Tank shelling in the area hit houses and mosques, killing at least three Palestinians and wounding several others, local medics said.
'Israeli military entered the premises, forcing women and children to evacuate on foot toward Al-Mawasi amid active conflict. Male staff and family members were handcuffed, stripped, interrogated on the spot, and screened at gunpoint,' WHO said.
Two WHO staff and two family members were detained, it said in a post on X, adding that three were later released, while one staff member remained in detention.
WHO demands the immediate release of the detained staff and protection of all its staff.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Deir al-Balah is packed with Palestinians displaced during more than 21 months of war in Gaza, hundreds of whom fled west or south after Israel issued an evacuation order, saying it sought to destroy infrastructure and capabilities of the militant group Hamas.
WHO said its main warehouse, located within an evacuation zone, was damaged on Sunday due to an attack that triggered explosions and a fire inside.
WHO stated it would remain in Deir al-Balah and expand its operations despite the attacks.
Britain and more than 20 other countries called on Monday for an immediate end to the war in Gaza and criticised the Israeli government's aid delivery model after hundreds of Palestinians were killed near sites distributing food.
Saeed MMT Jaras/Anadolu via Getty Images
AFP reported that the Israeli army said on Tuesday it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, a day after Israel carried out air strikes on its Houthi rebel-held port of Hodeida.
'Following the sirens that sounded a short while ago in several areas in Israel, a missile launched from Yemen was intercepted by the IAF,' the Israeli military reported on Telegram.
Houthi-controlled areas of Yemen have come under repeated Israeli strikes since the Iran-backed rebels began launching missile and drone attacks on Israel, declaring they act in solidarity with Palestinians over the Gaza war.
Israel's Defence Minister Israel Katz said Monday's strikes hit 'targets of the Houthi terror regime at the port of Hodeida' and aimed to prevent any attempt to restore infrastructure previously hit.
'Yemen's fate will be the same as Tehran's,' Katz said.
A Houthi security official, requesting anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, told AFP that 'the bombing destroyed the port's dock, which had been rebuilt following previous strikes.'
The Houthis recently resumed deadly attacks in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, targeting ships they accuse of having links to Israel, to force Israel to end the Gaza war.