Hospitals must be kept free of combat: UN

WASHINGTON

A UN spokesman said Thursday that hospitals cannot be used as a source of combat after a recent Israeli attack on a hospital in the Gaza Strip.

"(We) reiterate once again that hospitals must be kept free of combat, must not be subjected to any sort of military action.

"Any type of military action on hospitals must be condemned," Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York

His remarks came after the Israeli army said its forces stormed the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza and detained suspects.

Dujarric said he echoed the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who said: "We're deeply concerned about the safety of patients and health personnel due to the intensifying hostilities in the vicinity of the hospital. We repeat: health MUST be protected at all times."

He added that UN chief Antonio Guterres hopes that all parties involved will reach an agreement that would lead to a humanitarian cease-fire and the immediate and unconditional release of all the hostages.

'Designation of an entity as a terrorist group … can only be made by the Security Council'

In response to a question whether Guterres has any comment on UN relief chief Martin Griffiths' remarks on Hamas, Dujarric said Guterres and many senior officials, including Griffiths, "have unequivocally condemned the abhorrent terrorist attacks that Hamas conducted on Oct. 7 that there could be no justification for them. That position is unchanged."

In an interview Wednesday with Sky News, Griffiths said Hamas is "not a terror group." On Thursday, he wrote on X: "Just to clarify: Hamas is not on the list of groups designated as terrorist organizations by the United Nations Security Council. This doesn't make their acts of terror on 7 October any less horrific and reprehensible, as I've been saying all along."

Dujarric commented on those remarks and said: "As we've said many times here and secretary-general himself not too long ago, for the UN, the designation of an entity as a terrorist group, or terrorist organization can only be made by the Security Council.”

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack. The ensuing Israeli attack had killed at least 28,663 and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Less than 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85% of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.