By Muin Abdul Majid, NNN-Bernama,
Dubai : As the pounding of Gaza by Israel continues, a United Nations official has made a grim observation of the tragic reality on the ground — neither homes nor UN shelters are safe for the nearly 1.5 million people in the coastal enclave.
“There are no safe places to flee. We call on all parties to uphold international humanitarian law and protect civilians,” says UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory Maxwell Gaylard.
As one of the most densely-populated places in the world, he says, it is clear that more civilians will be killed and more homes, buildings and civilian infrastructure will be destroyed if the conflict continues.
“I reiterate the UN Secretary-General’s call for an immediate cessation to this violence. Human beings have the right to life, liberty and security, no matter who they are and where they live,” said Gaylard in comments made available here Wednesday.
A flurry of diplomatic efforts are underway to resolve a conflict that has claimed more than 600 lives since Israel launched its assault on the Gaza Strip on Dec 27. Reports said some 15,000 Palestinians had packed the UN’s 23 Gaza schools because their homes were destroyed or to flee the violence.
“Well before the current fighting, the UN had given to the Israeli authorities the GPS (Global Positioning System) co-ordinates of all its installations in Gaza,” Gaylard said, referring to the deadly Israeli bombardment of several UN facilities there.
He said if international humanitarian law had been contravened, those responsible must held accountable.