UN chief condemns Israel's Gaza refugee camp killings to save hostages

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) - UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday conveyed "extreme sorrow" and condemnation over the deaths of Palestinian civilians following Israel's deadly attack on the Nuseirat refugee camp to free four hostages.

"Secretary-General expresses his extreme sorrow and his condemnation of the deaths of hundreds of Palestinian civilians and injuries to hundreds more that happened in the context of the operation," UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters during a news conference.

Citing information obtained from UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on the ground, Dujarric said hospitals in the region were overflowing after Israel's operation.

Reiterating the call for all parties to protect civilians, Dujarric said that every loss of life is tragic.

Responding to Anadolu's question on reports of Israeli soldiers entering the camp with aid trucks during the operation, Dujarric said they did not have concrete information regarding these reports.

He, however, emphasized that the independence of humanitarian operations and aid workers must be respected worldwide.

"We don't.. surround ourselves by armed guards or the communities themselves. We very much hope that will continue," he said.

On Saturday, the Israeli army freed four hostages during a military operation in the Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip.

During the operation, at least 274 Palestinians were killed and 700 others injured in a bombardment of the camp, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

More than 37,100 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and nearly 84,700 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine.