Shelling of an ICRC facility in Gaza

(5 July 2024) (CH-S) Article 18 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 12 August 1949 states: “Civilian hospitals organized to give care to the wounded and sick, the infirm and maternity cases, may in no circumstances be the object of attack, but shall at all times be respected and protected by the Parties to the conflict.”

In recent weeks, Israel has repeatedly called on the residents of the Gaza Strip to move to the Mawasi area near Rafah. Food, water and medical supplies are available there. This is where the ICRC office is located, which is doing its best to help the displaced and wounded.

More than 25 civilians are said to have been killed and over 50 people injured in shelling on 21 June. The spokesperson for the Israeli army said that there were “no indications that the army carried out an attack in the humanitarian zone in Mawasi”. The attack is being investigated. The ICRC, on the other hand, is sticking to its position. "Swiss Standpoint" documents the ICRC's press release here.

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Gaza/ The ICRC office, which is surrounded by hundreds of displaced civilians living in tents, was damaged by nearby shelling.

«Firing so dangerously close to humanitarian structures puts the lives of civilians and humanitarians at risk.» Heavy-calibre projectiles landed within metres of the office and residences of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) on Friday afternoon [21 June]. The strike damaged the structure of the ICRC office, which is surrounded by hundreds of displaced civilians living in tents, including many of our Palestinian colleagues.

This incident caused a mass casualty influx at the nearby Red Cross Field Hospital, with the hospital receiving 22 killed and 45 injured, and reports of additional causalities.

Firing so dangerously close to humanitarian structures, of whose locations the parties to the conflict are aware and which are clearly marked with the Red Cross emblem, puts the lives of civilians and Red Cross staff at risk.

The grave security incident is one of several in recent days; previously stray bullets have reached ICRC structures. We decry these incidents that put the lives of humanitarians and civilians at risk.

Under international humanitarian law, parties to the conflict have an obligation to take all feasible precautions to avoid harm to civilians and damage to civilian objects, including humanitarian facilities.

Source: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/icrc_gaza-the-icrc-office-which-is-surrounded-activity-7210034414834094080-t7TE, 22 June 2024