UN says Israeli strikes on Gaza refugee camp 'could amount to war crimes'

Aid official says UN will 'stay with Palestinians here in Gaza'

November 2, 2023 12:19 AM

Deadly Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip's largest refugee camp "could amount to war crimes", the UN Human Rights Office said on Wednesday.

"Given the high number of civilian casualties & the scale of destruction following Israeli air strikes on Jabalia refugee camp, we have serious concerns that these are disproportionate attacks that could amount to war crimes," the office wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

Aid official says UN will 'stay with Palestinians here in Gaza'

The United Nations will remain steadfast in supporting Palestinians in Gaza, a top aid official said Wednesday on the first such trip to the enclave since the war with Israel erupted.

"I was shocked by the fact that everyone there was asking for food, was asking for water," Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), told journalists in Gaza.

The most senior UN official to visit the territory since the war began said he had "never ever seen" anything like it before in Gaza.

"UNRWA will stay with the Palestinian refugees in Gaza, with the Palestinians here in Gaza," Lazzarini said.