The UN on Thursday reiterated its demand for accountability after Israel admitted its army was responsible for a strike March 19 that killed a UN staff member and injured at least five others in the Gaza Strip.
“The Israeli authorities have communicated to us the conclusions of their investigation, and we welcome it,” spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a news conference, adding that Israeli officials are showing more “cooperation and transparency” since the beginning of its attacks on the enclave.
Emphasizing that acknowledgment is not enough, Dujarric said: “What is clear to us is that we need to have accountability. We need to have accountability, not just for this incident, but we need to have accountability and transparency for all of the other times we’ve seen UN colleagues killed in Gaza or UN infrastructure attacked.”
“We call on all parties to fully comply with international humanitarian law, and that includes, for us, the protection, obviously, of civilians, but also the protection of UN and humanitarian staff,” he said.
Dujarric reaffirmed that “it was an Israeli shell that hit a UN guest house, whose location was clearly known to the IDF (Israeli military).” He added: “We know where we stand … what we need to see is accountability.”
Dujarric cited the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) when he warned about the deepening humanitarian crisis. “The total blockage of aid and any other supplies now nearing nearly two months has led to the depletion of essentials such as fresh food and tents … children are going hungry. Patients are going untreated, people are dying.
“It is time to lift the restrictions immediately,” he said.
Dujarric said food prices have skyrocketed 29% to 14,100% above pre-ceasefire levels, with basics like dairy, eggs, fruit and meat no longer available.
“On average, in April, prices rose 50% over March levels,” he added.
“Warehouses are almost depleted,” he said, leaving emergency shelter partners unable to provide more than “a fraction of what is actually needed for people to survive.”