CHANGES HEADLINE, DECK, LEDE; ADDS SECRETARY-GENERAL'S REMARKS
By Ikram Kouachi & Nur Asena Erturk
ANKARA (AA) – The head of Amnesty International denounced "war crimes" committed against civilians in Gaza on Friday.
"There is nowhere secure to run to in Gaza, neither in the north, nor in the south, nor in the center," Agnes Callamard told French broadcaster, BFMTV. "There is no building, no hospital, no clinic, no institute, no refugee camp that is safe. So those airstrikes are killing civilians after civilians."
Callamard cited the "collective punishment of an entire civilian population," and said: "This is a war crime."
She stressed that Gazans not having access to water, electricity, food and medicine was a "war crime."
Amnesty International earlier Friday demanded an immediate cease-fire in the Gaza Strip as civilians continue to suffer under ongoing bombardment and fighting in the besieged enclave.
"Countless lives have been shattered, ripped apart, and upended due to the crisis in Gaza, Israel and wider Occupied Palestinian Territories," the rights group said in a statement.
"A negotiated cease-fire would put a stop to unlawful attacks by all parties, halt the mounting death toll in Gaza and enable aid agencies to get life-saving aid, water and medical supplies into the strip," it added.
The group also said a cease-fire would "allow hospitals in Gaza to receive life-saving medicines, fuel and equipment they desperately need."
It would also "allow for independent international investigations to take place into war crimes committed by all parties to help end long-standing impunity, which continues to produce further atrocities," Amnesty added.
"In the face of such devastation and suffering, humanity must prevail," it said.
The Israeli army has widened its air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip, which has been under relentless airstrikes since the surprise offensive by Hamas on Oct. 7.
More than 10,700 people have been killed in the conflict, including at least 9,227 Palestinians and more than 1,538 Israelis.