The Red Cross denounced an attack against its Gaza office that did not leave injured

The International Red Cross Committee (ICRC) denounced on Monday that an office of its organization in the Gaza Strip was damaged by a projectile, while the Israeli army admitted having triggered «without knowing» that it was a headquarters of the humanitarian organization.

AFP

«Today, an Office of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Rafah received the impact of an explosive projectile, despite the fact that the office is clearly marked since all parties are notified about its location,» the organization lamented in a statement.

«Fortunately, no staff member was injured in this incident, but this has a direct impact on the CICR capacity to operate,» he added in the statement in which he emphatically condemned the attack against his facilities.

On his side, the Israeli army explained in a statement that «earlier, army forces that operated in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip, fired in the direction of a building after identifying suspects (…) after verifying it, it was discovered that the building belonged to the Red Cross, something that our forces did not know at the time of the incident,» he said.

The army said it would open an investigation.

The organ organization in Geneva recalled that international humanitarian law grants special protection to humanitarian and health personnel, to health facilities and the goods used for humanitarian relief activities.

«They must be respected and protected in all circumstances to preserve the continuity of attention,» he added.

Israel resumed the bombings on Gaza last week, claiming the stagnation of indirect negotiations on the next steps of the truce with Hamas after this month expired its first phase.

The ICRC pointed out that the escalation of the conflict in Gaza during the last week «has had considerable effects in the humanitarian level, including the death of hundreds of civilians, some of whom are still under the rubble, while others have lagged behind without anyone rescuing them.»

«The resumption of hostilities and violence generate hopelessness on all sides,» he said.

The entity indicated that food and drinking water reserves are consumed. «The medical facilities, including the Red Cross campaign hospital in Rafah, are already responding to incidents with mass victims».