EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell has condemned Israel’s deadly shelling near the office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in a designated “safe zone” in Gaza, calling for an investigation.
"The EU condemns the shelling which damaged the ICRC office in Gaza and led to dozens of casualties,” Borrel wrote on X on Saturday.
“An independent investigation is needed and those responsible must be held accountable,” he added.
The EU condemns the shelling which damaged the @ICRC office in #Gaza and led to dozens of casualties.
— Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) June 22, 2024
An independent investigation is needed and those responsible must be held accountable.
Protection of civilians is an obligation under Geneva Conventions.
1/2
The ICRC said late Friday that at least 22 people were killed when “heavy-caliber projectiles landed within meters of the office and residences of the International Committee of the Red Cross” in al-Mawasi, a coastal region west of Rafah.
“This incident caused a mass casualty influx at the nearby Red Cross Field Hospital, with the hospital receiving 22 killed and 45 injured, with reports of additional casualties."
The Red Cross facility has been also damaged by shelling, it said.
The organization also decried “these incidents that put the lives of humanitarians and civilians at risk.”
According to witnesses and rescue workers, shelling had taken place at two locations in the coastal area, which is filled with makeshift tents.
Al-Mawasi had been designated as a humanitarian “safe zone” by Israel. Thousands of people had fled there following the regime's invasion of the southern city of Rafah in early May.
According to Oxfam, more than 1 million people have fled Rafah to the nearby areas of Al-Mawasi, Deir al-Balah and Khan Younis.
Israel's airstrikes have previously hit locations in the vicinity of al-Muwasi, a rural area where Palestinians have been living in desperate conditions.