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US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday called on Israel to do more to protect civilians following a deadly strike on a UN shelter in Gaza that killed at least a dozen people.
Speaking to reporters in Luanda, the Angolan capital, Mr Blinken praised the UN's “life-saving” work in Gaza, where UNRWA, the world body's agency for Palestinian refugees, is providing food and shelter for civilians amid the ongoing conflict.
On Wednesday, a strike on a crowded UNRWA shelter killed 12 people and wounded about 75 others, said Thomas White, a senior official with the agency.
The White House said it was “gravely concerned” by the strike but reiterated its “unwavering” support for Israel's right to self-defence.
Mr Blinken told reporters that the UN shelter “is essential and it has to be protected”.
“We have reaffirmed this with the government of Israel and it is my understanding that they are, as is necessary and appropriate, looking into this incident,” Mr Blinken said.
According to the UN, two tank shells struck the shelter, located in Gaza's main southern city of Khan Younis.
The Israeli military is the only force known to have tanks operating in the Gaza Strip. It said it has “currently ruled out” that the strike was carried out by its aircraft or artillery but was still investigating, adding that the building might have been hit by a Hamas rocket.
On a trip focused on West Africa, Mr Blinken has been frequently asked to comment on the situation in Gaza, with the issue coming up at several stops on a packed tour that has included Cape Verde, Ivory Coast, Nigeria and Angola.
The National accompanied Mr Blinken on the tour, aimed at promoting US investments and support as Washington looks to counter Chinese and Russian influence in Africa. But the war in Gaza remained present.
“The suffering of citizens in Gaza, men, women and children remains heartbreaking,” Mr Blinken said in Luanda, noting that it was Israel’s responsibility to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure.
100 days of Israel Gaza war – in pictures
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Palestinian Muhammad Al Durra with his children in the ruins of a house in Rafah where they sheltered on January 11, 2024. EPA -
Family and friends at the funerals of journalists Hamza Al Dahdouh and Mustafa Thuraya on January 7, 2024 in Rafah, Gaza. Getty Images -
Palestinians mourn relatives killed by Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip outside a mortuary in Khan Younis January 4, 2024. AP Photo -
Displaced Palestinians queue to bake bread at a camp in the Muwasi area of Rafah, Gaza Strip, on December 23, 2023. AP Photo -
Palestinians queue for food in Rafah, the Gaza Strip, on December 20, 2023. AP Photo -
The ruins of Rafah on December 14, 2023. AFP -
Palestinians wounded in the Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip arrive at a hospital in Khan Younis on December 8, 2023. AP Photo -
Palestinians flee Israeli bombing along the Salaheddine Road in the Zeitoun district of Gaza city on November 28, 2023. AFP -
A Red Cross vehicle takes Israeli hostages from the Gaza Strip into Egypt in Rafah on November 25, 2023. AP -
The ruins of buildings in Gaza city on November 24, 2023, as a temporary truce between Israel and Hamas took effect. AP Photo -
A woman and her cat return home to eastern Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip during the first hours of a four-day truce between Israel and Hamas forces on November 24, 2023. AFP -
Mourning the dead of Israeli bombardment outside the mortuary at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis on November 14, 2023. AFP -
Civilians and rescuers look for survivors in the rubble of a building after Israeli bombing of Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on November 12, 2023. AFP -
November 7, 2023, a month to the day after Hamas attacked Israel, a victim of an Israeli bombardment in Rafah is moved from the rubble. AFP -
Searching the rubble after Israeli air strikes on the town of Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on October 26, 2023. AP Photo -
Mourning the Kotz family at their funeral in Gan Yavne, Israel, on October 17, 2023. AP Photo -
An Israeli firefighter composes himself after he and his colleagues extinguished cars set on fire by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Israel, on October 9, 2023. AP Photo -
Palestinians with the wreckage of an Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of the city of Khan Younis on October 7, 2023, the day Hamas forces swept unopposed into Israel. AP Photo -
Israeli police officers evacuate a woman and a child from a site hit by a rocket fired from the Gaza Strip, in Ashkelon, southern Israel, on October 7, 2023. AP Photo
