UN demands probe into Israeli drone attack that killed 4 Palestinians in Gaza Strip

HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Friday expressed profound dismay over footage showing Israeli drones bombing four Palestinian civilians in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, stating that the incident requires investigation.

Farhan Haq, UN deputy spokesperson, commented on the footage aired by Al Jazeera channel, saying, "Secretary-General (Antonio Guterres) is deeply disturbed by the video footage."

Haq conveyed that Guterres called for a "thorough, independent and credible" investigation into the killings of the unarmed Palestinians.

Noting that the UN chief urged all parties to abide by international humanitarian law, Haq also emphasized the need to adhere to the principles of distinguishing civilians from combatants and proportionality.

The scenes were captured from an Israeli drone in Khan Younis in February, showing the pursuit of the four Palestinians and their targeting with several missiles.

The footage shows the youth searching for their homes or what remains of them among the rubble on a road cleared by the army’s vehicles before withdrawing from the area. It is evident from the footage that the four civilians did not carry weapons and did not pose any threat.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 cross-border attack led by Hamas in which nearly 1,200 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, have since been killed in Gaza, and nearly 74,300 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

Illegal Jewish settlements

Asked about Israel annexing of 8 square kilometers (about 3 square miles) of land in the Jordan Valley in the occupied West Bank and branding it as "Israeli land," Haq stressed that, "We believe that there should not be efforts to change the status of the lands on the ground outside of actual negotiations between the parties."

Haq recalled that the UN had previously expressed concerns about similar incidents.

Israel's declaration of "state land" in the Jordan Valley region was reportedly overseen by Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, known for his far-right views.

Smotrich described the move as "important and strategic matter," indicating their encouragement of the establishment of illegal Jewish settlements.

According to Colonization and Wall Resistance Commission estimates, more than 720,000 Israelis reside in illegal settlements in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.

The international community agrees that settlements are “illegal” and constitute an obstacle to the implementation of the “two-state solution,” which calls for the establishment of a Palestinian state alongside the state of Israel.