UPDATED ON: Tuesday, January 20, 2009 17:33 Mecca time, 14:33 GMT News Middle East UN chief visits Gaza, urges probe
Palestinians say 25,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed in Israel's assault on Gaza [EPA] Ban Ki-moon, the secretary-general of the United Nations, has demanded a "full investigation" into Israel's bombing of a UN compound in Gaza City. Speaking during an official visit to the Palestinian enclave on Tuesday, he condemned the attack on the UN complex as "outrageous" and "totally unacceptable". "It is particularly significant for a secretary-general of the UN to stand in front of this bomb site of the UN compound," he said. "I am just appalled and not able to describe how I am feeling having seen this ... it's an outrageous and totally unacceptable attack against the UN. I have protested many times, and I protest again in the strongest terms." Ban called for a "full investigation" into the incident to make those responsible for the attack "accountable". He also announced he was sending a high-level delegation to oversee humanitarian support for Gazans and assist with the rebuilding effort following Israel's three-week offensive. Ban is the highest-ranking official to visit Gaza since Israel and Hamas declared separate, unilateral ceasefires on Sunday. 'Shocking' devastation Ban stressed "the UN and the international community will support and help you [Gazans] to overcome" the devastation, which he described as "shocking and alarming". While Ban reiterated his condemnation of Israel's "excessive use of force", he was careful to underline that he believes rocket attacks on Israel by Gazan fighters are also "unacceptable". In video Unearthing Gaza's destruction Israel's scorched earth tactics Israel had said the aim of its operations in Gaza was to cripple Hamas's ability to launch rockets into the south of the country. Ban urged Palestinians factions to unite to allow the international community, including the UN, to help broker a lasting peace deal between Israel and the Palestinians. However, while offering to do "all [he] can as secretary-general of the UN to help in this time of need", Ban is not expected to meet Hamas officials during this visit. Ayman Mohyeldin, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Gaza, said because much of the international community, including the US and the European Union, regard Hamas as a "terrorist organisation", it would be political difficult for the UN chief to hold direct talks with Hamas officials. Hamas won parliamentary elections in 2006 which were internationally recognised as being both fair and free. Rebuilding Gaza's devastated infrastructure is expected to cost billions of US dollars. Without supplies John Holmes, the UN humanitarian chief, says hundreds of millions of dollars in emergency aid supplies will be needed for the people of Gaza. Although water supplies were restored to many Gazan homes as of Sunday, 400,000 were still without running water, Holmes said. GAZA TOLL At least 1,300 people killed, including more than 400 children and more than 100 women At least 5,300 Palestinians injured, including nearly 1,900 children and 800 women At least 100,000 people forced from their homes At least 13 Israelis killed, including three civilians Electricity in Gaza is available for less than half the day and around 100,000 people have been left homeless by the war. Scores of bodies have been discovered in the rubble of destroyed buildings since both sides declared unilateral ceasefires on Sunday. Palestinians returning to their neighbourhoods have begun to unearth the true scale of destruction. Mohyeldin reported that the World Health Organisation had issued a warning of an outbreak of disease as weeks-old bodies remain unburied and sewage continues to flow in many areas because of the destruction of Gaza's infrastructure. The deposed Hamas-led government in Gaza estimates that more than 5,000 buildings were completely destroyed and another 20,000 damaged or partially destroyed in the fighting. Despite the three-week Israeli onslaught that killed more than 1,300 Palestinians and destroyed thousands of buildings, Hamas and other Palestinian factions have claimed victory in the fighting. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies --------------- Jusfiq Hadjar gelar Sutan Maradjo Lelo Allah yang disembah orang Islam tipikal dan yang digambarkan oleh al-Mushaf itu dungu, buas, kejam, keji, ganas, zalim lagi biadab hanyalah Allah fiktif. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ Post message: prole...@egroups.com Subscribe : proletar-subscr...@egroups.com Unsubscribe : proletar-unsubscr...@egroups.com List owner : proletar-ow...@egroups.com Homepage : http://proletar.8m.com/Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/proletar/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:proletar-dig...@yahoogroups.com mailto:proletar-fullfeatu...@yahoogroups.com <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: proletar-unsubscr...@yahoogroups.com <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/