Gulf bloc urges accountability over Gaza hospital shelling
The GCC urged the UN Security Council to halt attacks, protect civilians and let aid reach all of Gaza.
The Gulf Cooperation Council condemned on Friday the continued Israeli violations in Gaza, including shelling of the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, the official Palestinian news agency WAFA reported.
GCC Secretary-General Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi said in a statement that attacks on hospitals and healthcare facilities amount to a serious breach of international humanitarian law.
Albudaiwi said such attacks endanger patients, the wounded and medical staff, and weaken the ability of health facilities to deliver care, adding to the suffering of Palestinians.
He said continued strikes on these facilities require firm international action and accountability for those responsible.
Albudaiwi called on the international community, particularly the UN Security Council, to take effective steps to halt Israeli attacks and protect civilians in Gaza.
He also urged the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid and medical supplies across the Strip, and said relief agencies must be able to carry out their work safely.
He reiterated the support of GCC states for the Palestinian people and their legitimate rights, foremost among them an independent Palestinian state along the June 4, 1967 borders with East Jerusalem as its capital.
The GCC is a regional grouping of six Gulf states: Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
The Arab Peace Initiative, first endorsed by the Arab League in 2002, offers normal relations with Israel in exchange for its withdrawal from territories occupied in 1967 and the creation of a Palestinian state.
