The UN special rapporteur on health rights on Wednesday called for an independent investigation into the bombing of Gaza's only power station.
"The destruction of Gaza's electricity power station is profoundly inconsistent with the health and safety of all civilians living in Gaza, especially the young, sick, infirm and elderly," Paul Hunt said.
"Moreover the destruction of Gaza's electricity power station may be a violation of international humanitarian law," he added.
The power station was knocked out during the night of June 27, just days after the capture of the Israeli soldier Corporal Gilad Shalit, which triggered the military incursion by Israel into Gaza.
The loss of power had knocked out water pumps affecting supplies and sewage for tens of thousands of households throughout the Gaza Strip. The lack of water had led to a spiral of ill health with reported cases of diarrhea up by 163 percent on the same period last year. It was possible other communicable diseases such as cholera would re-emerge.
It was important, Hunt said, that the widening conflict in Lebanon did not deflect attention away from the deepening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.
Since the offensive began last month, more than 100 Palestinians had been killed, including 18 children. Four hundred had been injured, 108 of them children according to UN sources.
The Israeli blockade of Gaza's borders meant medical patients returning from treatment abroad had been stranded at the Rafah crossing, while nine Palestinians waiting there had died.
Poverty rates in the region had now risen to 75 percent.
However it was the attack on the power station that was depriving civilians of the "highest attainable standard of health," which was enshrined in the International Bill of Rights.
"The basic rule of international humanitarian law is that parties to a conflict must always distinguish between combatants and civilians," Hunt said.
MONEY GRAB: People were rushing to collect bills scattered on the ground after the plane transporting money crashed, which an official said hindered rescue efforts A cargo plane carrying money on Friday crashed near Bolivia’s capital, damaging about a dozen vehicles on highway, scattering bills on the ground and leaving at least 15 people dead and others injured, an official said. Bolivian Minister of Defense Marcelo Salinas said the Hercules C-130 plane was transporting newly printed Bolivian currency when it “landed and veered off the runway” at an airport in El Alto, a city adjacent to La Paz, before ending up in a nearby field. Firefighters managed to put out the flames that engulfed the aircraft. Fire chief Pavel Tovar said at least 15 people died, but
LIKE FATHER, LIKE DAUGHTER: By showing Ju-ae’s ability to handle a weapon, the photos ‘suggest she is indeed receiving training as a successor,’ an academic said North Korea on Saturday released a rare image of leader Kim Jong-un’s teenage daughter firing a rifle at a shooting range, adding to speculation that she is being groomed as his successor. Kim’s daughter, Ju-ae, has long been seen as the next in line to rule the secretive, nuclear-armed state, and took part in a string of recent high-profile outings, including last week’s military parade marking the closing stages of North Korea’s key party congress. Pyongyang’s official Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) released a photo of Ju-ae shooting a rifle at an outdoor shooting range, peering through a rifle scope
India and Canada yesterday reached a string of agreements, including on critical mineral cooperation and a “landmark” uranium supply deal for nuclear power, the countries’ leaders said in New Delhi. The pacts, which also covered technology and promoting the use of renewable energy, were announced after Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney hailed a fresh start in the relationship between their nations. “Our ties have seen a new energy, mutual trust and positivity,” Modi said. Carney’s visit is a key step forward in ties that effectively collapsed in 2023 after Ottawa accused New Delhi
Gaza is rapidly running out of its limited fuel supply and stocks of food staples might become tight, officials said, after Israel blocked the entry of fuel and goods into the war-shattered territory, citing fighting with Iran. The Israeli military closed all Gaza border crossings on Saturday after announcing airstrikes on Iran carried out jointly with the US. Israeli authorities late on Monday night said that they would reopen the Kerem Shalom crossing from Israel to Gaza yesterday, for “gradual entry of humanitarian aid” into the strip, without saying how much. Israeli authorities previously said the crossings could not be operated safely during
RSS