UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday strongly condemned the airstrike which hit Al Ahli Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, which resulted in the killing and injury of hundreds of Palestinians, including women and children.
Guterres also condemned the strike and an attack earlier on Tuesday on a school run by the UN agency that assists Palestine refugees, UNRWA, which killed at least six people, his spokesperson said in a statement.
Guterres stressed in his message on X that hospitals and all medical personnel are protected under international law.
UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said in a statement "I am horrified by the reported deaths and injuries of children and women following an attack on the Al Ahli Hospital in the Gaza Strip."
UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland strongly condemned in the strongest terms "the horrific attack against the Baptist Hospital," stressing that hospitals and medical facilities and personnel have special protection under international humanitarian law.
In Geneva, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk denounced the Israeli occupation's bombing, which targeted hospital on Tuesday evening.
"Words fail me. Tonight, hundreds of people were killed horrifically in a massive strike at Al Ahli Arab Hospital in Gaza City, including patients, healthcare workers and families that had been seeking refuge in and around the hospital. Once again the most vulnerable. This is totally unacceptable," Turk said.
Hospitals are sacrosanct, and they must be protected at all cost, he said, adding "We don't yet know the full scale of this carnage, but what is clear is that the violence and killings must stop at once."
He said that at least six people were also killed when an UNRWA school was hit in al-Maghazi refugee camp. The school had been serving as a shelter for some 4,000 seeking refuge.
Turk called on all States with influence must do everything in their power to bring an end to this horrendous situation, stressing that civilians must be protected, and humanitarian aid must be allowed to reach those in need as a matter of urgency. Those found responsible must be held to account, he added.
Yesterday, 500 Palestinian citizens were martyred, and more than 600 others were injured as a result of the Israeli occupation's bombing of Al Ahli Baptist Hospital in Al-Zaytoun neighborhood in Gaza. The occupation's aircraft conducted an airstrike on the hospital while thousands of displaced Palestinians who had sought shelter at the hospital after their homes were destroyed were present.
