Geneva - Civilians in both the Gaza Strip and southern
Israel were suffering due to the ongoing conflict, an official with
the International Committee of the Red Cross said Monday.
'We are concerned about the safety of civilians,' said Dorothea
Krimitsas in Geneva.
Well over 500 Palestinians have been killed since Israel began an
aerial offensive on December 27, with a quarter of them estimated to
be civilians. Five Israelis, three of whom were civilians, have been
killed by rocket attacks.
The ICRC warned against using 'indiscriminate weapons which by
their nature cannot distinguish between military objectives and
civilians' and added that international law prohibited military
objectives in densely populated areas.
'I stress the need to protect medical personnel and medical
facilities,' Krimitsas said, asking that 'all possible measures' be
taken 'so that (medics) can perform their activities without
hindrance.'
Hospitals and other civilian infrastructure in Gaza have been
damaged in the military operation, the international aid agency said.
Since Israel began its ground operation on Saturday, movement of
aid workers and humanitarian vehicles has become more restricted,
owing to concerns for staff safety.
A Palestinian paramedic was killed when an Israeli shell hit a
civilian ambulance inside the enclave, the charity Oxfam said Sunday.
Two others from the medical team were injured.
The ICRC said its team of war surgeons and nurses, waiting since
Friday, was still unable to get into the Gaza Strip as Israel kept
the Erez Crossing closed for security reasons.
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