Red Cross says office in Gaza damaged by nearby shelling

By Peter Kenny

GENEVA (AA) - The office of the International Committee of the Red Cross office in the Gaza Strip, which is surrounded by hundreds of displaced civilians, was damaged by nearby shelling, the group said Friday.

Heavy-caliber projectiles landed meters of the office and residences of the Geneva-based ICRC late Friday, it said without identifying who was responsible.

“The strike damaged the structure of the ICRC office, which is surrounded by hundreds of displaced civilians living in tents, including many of our Palestinian colleagues,” it said in a statement.

The incident caused a mass casualty influx at a nearby Red Cross field hospital, with the facility receiving 22 bodies and 45 injured, with reports of additional casualties.

"Firing so dangerously close to humanitarian structures, of whose locations the parties to the conflict are aware and which are clearly marked with the Red Cross emblem, puts the lives of civilians and Red Cross staff at risk,” said the ICRC. "This grave security incident is one of several in recent days; previously stray bullets have reached ICRC structures. We decry these incidents that put the lives of humanitarians and civilians at risk.”

Under international humanitarian law, parties to the conflict must take all feasible precautions to avoid harm to civilians and damage to civilian objects, including humanitarian facilities, said the Red Cross.