Israel has destroyed more than half of Gaza, claiming that it is destroying ‘terrorist infrastructure’. The destruction, however, is clearly indiscriminate, according to reports.
The EU country of Belgium has declared it would summon the Israeli ambassador after the office building housing the Belgian Agency for Development Cooperation (Enabel) in Gaza was bombed and destroyed by Israeli airstrikes.
The decision was communicated via X by Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib.
“Targeting civilian buildings is unacceptable,” she said in a post on X.
Les bureaux d'Enabel, l'agence belge de développement, à Gaza ont été bombardés et détruits.
Viser des bâtiments civils est inacceptable.
Avec @carogennez, nous convoquons l'ambassadrice d'Israël pour faire toute la clarté. pic.twitter.com/uj5NUXp6ni
— Hadja Lahbib (@hadjalahbib) February 1, 2024
Israel has repeatedly targeted residential and civilian buildings in its ongoing bombardment campaign of the Gaza Strip, which has killed and wounded over 100,000 Palestinians.
More than 60% of Gaza’ housing units have now been destroyed or damaged, according to the UN, which says the amount of debris caused by Israel amounts to 8,000,000 metric tons and will take three years to clear.
Meanwhile, Enabel’s director, Jan Van Wetter, stated on X that the agency’s offices in Gaza were “destroyed yesterday in the bombing.”
“We at Enabel are shocked. As a government agency working for the public good within the framework of international humanitarian law, we cannot accept this,” he added.
He accompanied his statement with two photos, one showing the building where the agency’s offices were located before the bombing and the other showing a pile of rubble.
Our office in #Gaza has been totally destroyed yesterday in a bombing. Attacking civilian buildings is totally unacceptable. We are all shocked at Enabel. As a Government agency working for the common good in a framework of international humanitarian law, we cannot accept this. pic.twitter.com/Q0GPw6yXso
— Jean Van Wetter (@jeanvanwetter) February 1, 2024
In October, the Israeli army focused its airstrikes and ground operation in northern Gaza, including Gaza City, before advancing further south, with battles intensifying currently in Khan Yunis, the second-largest city in the besieged strip.
According to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published on Wednesday, 37,379 buildings, equivalent to 18% of all buildings in Gaza, were destroyed due to the Israeli military operation in November.
Since then, satellite data indicates that the destruction has more than doubled, according to Rami Al-Azza, a co-author of the report, who told Agence France-Presse, “The new data indicates that 50% of buildings in Gaza are damaged or destroyed.”
Rebuilding Gaza will Take Decades, Requiring Extensive Foreign Aid – UN
Notably, the agency’s offices are located in a building on Victor Hugo Street in the central Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City.
According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 27,019 Palestinians have been killed, and 66,139 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.
Palestinian and international estimates say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.
(PC, MEMO)
