UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres denounced on Wednesday Israeli gunfire near a diplomatic delegation visiting the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank.
“The secretary-general is alarmed by these reports that the IDF (Israeli army) fired what they called warning shots at diplomatic personnel, which included UN personnel as well,” spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said during a news conference.
Stressing that “diplomats who are doing their work should never be shot at, attacked in any way, shape or form,” Dujarric noted that diplomatic immunity “must be respected at all times.”
“Any use of force against them is unacceptable, and we urge the Israeli authorities to conduct a thorough investigation, to share those findings with us and to take any measures that would prevent any other such incident to take place,” he noted.
Dujarric’s remarks came after Israel fired shots to intimidate the foreign diplomatic delegation as it arrived at the entrance to the camp, according to a Palestinian official who spoke to Anadolu.
The delegation included diplomats from several EU member states, Türkiye, the UK, Russia, China, India, Brazil, and Japan, as well as representatives from several other countries, according to the official Palestinian news agency, Wafa.
Israel recently escalated its genocidal war in the Gaza Strip, launching a large-scale ground operation to seize control of most of the enclave and accelerating Palestinian displacement.
Ignoring mounting international pressure, Israel has tightened its aid blockade on the enclave, causing more deaths with each passing day.