Israel Deadly attack: UN withdraws some of its staff from Gaza
Following the attack on UN staff in the Gaza Strip that left one dead, the United Nations is withdrawing around a third of its international staff from the area. Secretary-General António Guterres had "taken the difficult decision to reduce the United Nations presence in Gaza", said his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric in New York. He emphasized that the UN would not leave the Gaza Strip in the face of the great humanitarian emergency. Around 30 of the current 100 international staff will leave the region for the time being, the spokesman said. However, the remaining staff and the more than 10,000 local Palestinian employees of the UNRWA relief organization would continue their work. According to Dujarric, the attack last week was caused by an Israeli tank. One Bulgarian UN employee was killed and six others from France, Moldova, North Macedonia, Palestine and the UK were wounded.
24.03.2025, 20:36
SDA
"The Israelis knew exactly where this UN facility was located"
The UN called for an investigation: "The Israelis knew exactly where this UN facility was located - and it was hit by a shell from one of their tanks," said the spokesperson. Israel denied the allegations last week: Contrary to reports, the Israeli army did not attack a UN building, it said. It called on the media to exercise caution with regard to unconfirmed reports.
For the first time since a ceasefire began around two months ago, the Israeli air force intensified its bombing of targets in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday night last week. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority, more than 400 people have been killed so far, including many minors and women.
