Two United Nations guesthouses in central Gaza were struck or under attack, including one linked to the World Health Organization. The WHO's guesthouse in Deir al-Balah was hit three times before Israeli forces entered and conducted searches, separating families. Men were interrogated at gunpoint while women were evacuated with children. Despite U.N. requests for Israeli fire to cease, attacks continued. Another U.N. facility was also struck, with reports of past incidents resulting in casualties among U.N. staff. The military operation represents a significant increase in troop presence in Gaza.
The head of the WHO, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated that the agency's guesthouse in Deir al-Balah was struck three times before Israeli forces entered, separating families.
Men were strip-searched and interrogated at gunpoint, while women were forced to evacuate with their children during the Israeli operation in Deir al-Balah.
An early internal assessment indicated that the attacks on the WHO guesthouse were from incoming Israeli fire, even after the U.N. requested the military to hold its fire.
Israeli tanks previously targeted a guesthouse used by the U.N. Office for Project Services, killing a veteran staffer, demonstrating ongoing risks to humanitarian workers.
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