UN slams ‘shocking’ global inaction after Israeli strike on Gaza hospital

GENEVA: A UN chief slammed “shocking” global inaction over the Gaza conflict Monday after an Israeli strike on a hospital killed at least 20 people including five journalists.

Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees described the strike as “silencing the last remaining voices reporting about children dying silently amid famine.

“The world’s indifference and inaction is shocking,” he added on X.

Gaza civil defence spokesman Mahmud Bassa said an Israeli explosive drone targeted a building at Nasser Hospital in the southern Gaza city of Khan Yunis, followed by an air strike as the wounded were being evacuated.

Reuters, the Associated Press and Al Jazeera said their contributors were among the journalists killed in the strike, which came just days after the UN declared a famine in the war-battered Palestinian territory.

The UN rights office also condemned the strike, insisting that “journalists are not a target. Hospitals are not a target”.

“The killing of journalists in Gaza should shock the world — not into stunned silence but into action, demanding accountability and justice,” spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said.

“In a situation of war and famine, international journalists continue to be denied entry by Israeli authorities,” she added, and “at least 247 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

“These journalists are the eyes and ears of the international community, and they must be protected,” she said.

“Their killings, and those of countless other civilians, must be independently, promptly investigated and justice must follow.”

World Health Organization chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said four health workers were also among the dead.

“Fifty others were injured, among them critically ill patients who were already receiving care,” he said on X.

“While people in Gaza are being starved, their already limited access to health care is being further crippled by repeated attacks,” he added.

“We cannot say it loudly enough: STOP attacks on health care. Ceasefire now!”