The United Nations mentioned Monday (March 24, 2025) it’s going to “reduce its footprint” in the Gaza Strip after an Israeli tank strike hit one in all its compounds final week, killing one staffer from Bulgaria and wounding 5 different workers.
The world physique will briefly take away about a third of its roughly 100 worldwide staffers working in Gaza, U.N. Secretary-General spokesman Stéphane Dujarric. He pointed to the elevated hazard after Israel relaunched its army marketing campaign final week with bombardment that has since killed tons of of Palestinians. Israel has additionally minimize off all meals, medication, help and different provides to Gaza’s inhabitants for the previous three weeks.
Mr. Dujarric’s assertion was the U.N’s first to level the finger at Israel in the March 19 explosion on the U.N. guesthouse in central Gaza. He mentioned that “based on the information currently available,” the strikes on the location “were caused by an Israeli tank.”
The Israeli army repeated its denial that it was accountable for the strike, which happened a day after Israel shattered Gaza’s two-month-old ceasefire with a shock bombardment throughout the Gaza Strip.
Mr. Dujarric mentioned the U.N. “has made taken the difficult decision to reduce the Organization’s footprint in Gaza, even as humanitarian needs soar.” He mentioned the U.N. “is not leaving Gaza,” mentioning that it nonetheless has about 13,000 nationwide staff in Gaza, primarily working for UNRWA, the U.N. company for Palestinian refugees.
The influence of a projectile is seen on the wall of the U.N. guesthouse, the place United Nations staff had been situated when the constructing was struck, leaving one staff member lifeless and 5 others injured in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza, on March 19, 2025.
| Photo Credit:
AP
New Israeli strikes over the previous 24 hours killed greater than 60 Palestinians round Gaza, the territory’s Health Ministry mentioned. The Ministry’s depend doesn’t distinguish between civilians and militants.
The Ministry on Monday put out a checklist of the names of greater than 15,000 youngsters, 17 and beneath, killed by Israel’s marketing campaign because it started greater than 17 months in the past. The checklist included almost 5,000 youngsters beneath the age of 6 who had been killed, together with 876 infants who had not reached a yr in age,
Israel, which launched its marketing campaign .in retaliation for Hamas’ October 2023 assault, says it has restarted its bombardment and minimize off meals to Gaza to power Hamas to settle for new phrases for the ceasefire and launch extra hostages. It says it targets Hamas members and positions, blaming the group for civilian deaths as a result of it operates among the many inhabitants.
Air raid sirens and explosions had been heard over Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and central Israel on Monday night because the army mentioned it intercepted a missile launched from Yemen.
There had been no fast experiences of casualties. Israel’s Magen David Adom emergency rescue service mentioned “teams are en-route to search areas where reports of rocket strikes have been received.”
Yemen’s Houthi rebels have fired a handful of long-range missiles at Israel in the times because it resumed the warfare in Gaza. There was no fast declare of accountability from the Houthis.
Two rockets from the Gaza Strip had been additionally intercepted after crossing into Israeli territory earlier Monday night, setting off sirens, the Israeli army mentioned. There had been no fast experiences of accidents.
Al-Quds Brigades, the army arm of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group, claimed accountability.
The U.N. discount comes as help staff and medical staff have come beneath hearth.
The International Committee of the Red Cross mentioned its workplace in the southern metropolis of Rafah in the Gaza Strip was broken by an explosive projectile Monday. It mentioned no staff had been harm however the harm has a direct influence on its means to function. It didn’t specify who was behind the explosion.
ICRC additionally mentioned that on Sunday, contact was misplaced with emergency medical technicians from the Palestine Red Crescent Society and their whereabouts stay unknown. Last week, humanitarian staff in Gaza had been killed and injured, it mentioned.
On Sunday, Israel struck the surgical procedure ward at southern Gaza’s largest hospital, killing two folks and wounding others, lots of whom had been already injured by earlier strikes. One of these killed at Khan Younis’ Nasser Hospital was a teenage boy recovering from surgical procedure.
The different was a Hamas official that Israel says was the goal of the strike, Ismail Barhoum. Hamas mentioned Barhoum was present process therapy on the time. The Israeli army denied that, saying he oversaw Hamas’ funds in Gaza, together with transferring cash to its armed wing, and was understanding of the hospital.
The strike final week on the U.N. compound outdoors Deir al-Balah killed a 51-year-old staffer, Marin Valev Marinov. He labored with the U.N. Office for Project Services, which carries out infrastructure and improvement tasks around the globe.
In the 2 days earlier than the lethal blast, strikes hit subsequent to after which straight in the compound, UNOPS chief Jorge Moreira da Silva mentioned earlier. He mentioned the company had contacted the Israeli army after the primary strike and confirmed that the army was conscious of the ability’s location.
Olga Cherevko, spokesperson for the U.N.’s humanitarian workplace, often known as OCHA, mentioned the U.N. and its companions have already suspended a variety of actions, many in training, safety and water and sanitation companies. The purpose, she was, was security considerations and the influence of Israeli evacuation orders.
“A lot things are constrained right now because of the security situation,” she advised AP earlier than Dujarric’s announcement. “The challenges are massive. We have had a lot of our activities affected by the situation and a lot of our partners have had to suspend operations because it is just not safe.”
Movement of vehicles, together with these distributing water, have been affected, she mentioned. Only 29 out of 237 short-term studying areas have resumed their actions because the ceasefire collapse, she mentioned.
Israel’s marketing campaign in Gaza has killed greater than 50,000 Palestinians and wounded greater than 113,000, in accordance to the Health Ministry. Nearly 90% of the inhabitants of some 2,3 million have been pushed from their houses. Israel launched the marketing campaign vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023 assault on southern Israel, in which militants killed some 1,200 folks and kidnapped 250 others.
Published – March 25, 2025 08:09 am IST
