France “condemns the shooting” at a UN refuge in Khan Younes

According to the UN, two tanks fired on Wednesday at this training center transformed into a shelter after the start of the war on October 7. The toll rose on Thursday, sparking numerous reactions.

“The protection of civilians is both a moral imperative and an international obligation.” France condemned, Thursday January 25, the deadly shootings which hit, the day before, a UN refuge in Khan Younes, the epicenter of the war between Israel and Hamas, in the south of the Gaza Strip, a small besieged territory. since October 9.

“The United Nations sites and humanitarian personnel, whose work is essential to the civilian populations of Gaza, must absolutely be protected. France salutes their courage and will continue to support them tirelessly”says the deputy spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in a press release published late in the evening.

“We must work immediately for a lasting ceasefire”

While the death toll from the strikes increased on Thursday to 13 dead and 56 injured, including 21 serious, according to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), the Quai d’Orsay calls on Israel to “comply with international humanitarian law, which imposes at all times and in all places clear principles of distinction, necessity, proportionality and precaution.” “We must work immediately for a lasting ceasefire, which alone will put an end to the suffering of the civilian population of Gaza”underlines the deputy spokesperson.

The refuge housed a UN training center, transformed into a shelter since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas. Philippe Lazzarini, an UNRWA official, lambasted “a flagrant violation of the fundamental rules of war”. He maintains that the coordinates of this center had been “shared with Israeli authorities”. The United Nations told AFP on Thursday that the Israeli army had ordered the evacuation of this refuge, which houses tens of thousands of displaced people, before Friday 5 p.m.