Israel storms Shifa Hospital
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‘Stop this horror’
The head of the UN children’s agency said Wednesday she had witnessed “devastating” scenes on a visit to Gaza and urged both sides to “stop this horror.”
“What I saw and heard was devastating. They have endured repeated bombardment, loss and displacement,” UNICEF’s executive director Catherine Russell said.
“Inside the Strip, there is nowhere safe for Gaza’s one million children to turn,” Russell said in a statement.
The United Nations and the Red Cross voiced alarm, demanding that thousands of patients and civilians be protected.
“I’m appalled by reports of military raids in Shifa hospital in Gaza,” UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said on X.
“The protection of newborns, patients, medical staff and all civilians must override all other concerns.
“Hospitals are not battlegrounds.”
The United Nations estimates that at least 2,300 people – patients, staff and displaced civilians – are inside and may be unable to escape because of fierce fighting.
‘End indiscriminate killing’
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Wednesday urged Israel to end the “indiscriminate killing of Palestinians” in Gaza, in his sharpest criticism of Israel since the regime launched its brutal ground and aerial attacks on Gaza over a month ago.
“We demand an immediate cease-fire on the part of Israel in Gaza and strict compliance with international humanitarian law, which today is clearly not respected,” he said.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has called for Israel to stop “killing babies,” earning a furious response from Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu.
Trudeau said on Tuesday that the “killing of women, of children, of babies” in the besieged Gaza Strip must end.
Israel’s ensuing aerial bombardment and ground offensive have so far killed 11,320 people, mostly civilians, including thousands of children.