UN ‘Alarmed’ at West Bank Violence Day After Israeli Raid

Israeli soldiers argue with a demonstrator holding a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israeli settlements in Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank June 6, 2022. Picture taken June 6, 2022. (Reuters)
Israeli soldiers argue with a demonstrator holding a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israeli settlements in Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank June 6, 2022. Picture taken June 6, 2022. (Reuters)
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UN ‘Alarmed’ at West Bank Violence Day After Israeli Raid

Israeli soldiers argue with a demonstrator holding a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israeli settlements in Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank June 6, 2022. Picture taken June 6, 2022. (Reuters)
Israeli soldiers argue with a demonstrator holding a Palestinian flag during a protest against Israeli settlements in Jordan Valley in the Israeli-occupied West Bank June 6, 2022. Picture taken June 6, 2022. (Reuters)

The UN Middle East peace envoy urged Israel and the Palestinians Wednesday to calm surging violence in the occupied West Bank, a day after the latest Israeli raid killed six peopl

"We are in the midst of a cycle of violence that must be stopped immediately," Tor Wennesland said in a statement.

"The Security Council has spoken with one voice, calling on the parties to observe calm and restraint, and to refrain from provocative actions, incitement and inflammatory rhetoric."

The call came a day after intense fighting during an Israeli raid in the flashpoint northern West Bank city of Jenin, in which the soldiers killed six Palestinians, including a member of Hamas accused of killing two Israeli settlers last month, AFP reported.

Wennesland said he was "alarmed" at the violence, which the army said included soldiers launching shoulder-fired rockets amid ferocious gunfire.

Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, called the use of rockets in Jenin refugee camp on Tuesday an act of "all-out war", Palestinian news agency Wafa reported.

The Jenin raid was the latest in a string of deadly military operations in the Palestinian territory, which Israel has occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967.

Among the six killed was Abdel Fatah Hussein Khroushah, 49. The Israeli army said he was a "terrorist operative" suspected of killing two Israeli settlers in the Palestinian town of Huwara on February 26.

The killing of the two settlers, which came just hours after Israeli and Palestinian officials pledged in Jordan to "prevent further violence", sparked fury among Israeli settlers, with hundreds later torching Palestinian homes and cars in the West Bank town.

"I am deeply disturbed by the continuing violence," Wennesland said, condemning both Israeli settler violence against Palestinians and Palestinian attacks against Israelis.

"Israel, as the occupying power, must ensure that the civilian population is protected and perpetrators are held to account," he said.

Overnight, a rocket was fired from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip but fell short and exploded inside the coastal enclave, the Israeli military said.

Commitments made by the two sides in Jordan last month, when they agreed to "commit to de-escalation", must be implemented if "we are to find a way forward", Wennesland said.

"The parties must refrain from further steps that would lead us to more violence," he added.



New Israeli Strikes on Gaza Draw Global Condemnation 

Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
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New Israeli Strikes on Gaza Draw Global Condemnation 

Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)
Palestinians make their way to flee their homes, after the Israel army issued evacuation orders for a number of neighborhoods, following heavy Israeli strikes, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 18, 2025. (Reuters)

Israel's renewed strikes on Gaza on Tuesday sparked international outcry and demands for it to respect the ceasefire agreement.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday he is "shocked" by the Israeli airstrikes in Gaza and has called for the ceasefire in Gaza to be respected.

Guterres, in a statement, called for humanitarian aid to resume for people in Gaza and for the hostages held by Hamas to be released unconditionally.

Israel launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing at least 400 Palestinians, including women and children, according to hospital officials. The surprise bombardment shattered a ceasefire in place since January and threatened to fully reignite the 17-month-old war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after Hamas refused Israeli demands to change the ceasefire agreement. Officials said the operation was open-ended and was expected to expand. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel's actions.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry said on Tuesday it denounces "in the strongest terms" Israel resuming strikes on Gaza, and called on the international community to step in to stop what it described as crimes against the Palestinians.

Also, Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani demanded immediate international action to compel Israel to implement an immediate ceasefire, abide by the Gaza ceasefire agreement and return to negotiations.

France called for an immediate halt to the violence, the French Foreign Affairs ministry said in a statement.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan branded Israel as a "terrorist state" feeding on the "blood, lives and tears of innocent" people.

A vocal critic of Israel’s actions in Gaza, he accused Israel of committing "genocide" in Gaza. He pledged to increase diplomatic efforts to stop the violence and ensure a ceasefire.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry said Israel's attacks on Gaza amounted to a "new phase in its policy of genocide" against Palestinians and urged the international community to take a determined stance to ensure a ceasefire is upheld and humanitarian aid is delivered. 

In a statement, the ministry added it was unacceptable for Israel to cause a "new cycle of violence" in the region, adding the Israeli government's "hostile approach" threatened the future of the Middle East. 

The Kremlin said it was concerned by what it called a large number of civilian casualties after Israel struck Gaza and hoped that peace would return. 

"Undoubtedly, it's another deterioration in the situation (in Gaza) and another spiral of escalation that is causing our concern," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters. 

"Especially concerning of course are the reports of major casualties among the civilian population," he added. 

"We are monitoring the situation very closely and, of course, we are waiting for it to return to a peaceful course." 

The end of the ceasefire in Gaza due to Israeli attacks is cause for grave concern, Germany Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said, calling for talks on the second phase of the ceasefire and further hostage releases to resume immediately.
"The images of burning tents in refugee camps are shocking. I emphasize that international law includes the principle of proportionality, even in self defense," Baerbock said in Berlin.
"I have to appeal here, in particular, to the United States, to its regional influence, to its corresponding potential for influence," she added.

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese called for the ceasefire to be maintained.

"There’s already been enormous suffering there, which is why we’re calling upon all parties to respect the ceasefire and hostage deal that was put in place," Albanese told reporters.

"We’ll continue to make representations. Australia will continue to stand up for peace and security in the region," he added.

South Africa said it was "gravely concerned" by the deadly wave of airstrikes in Gaza, and raised doubts about Israel's "commitment to a permanent ceasefire as envisaged in the ceasefire plan brokered by the USA, Egypt and Qatar."

South Africa’s post-apartheid government has long been a supporter of the Palestinian cause, and has filed a case at the United Nations’ top court accusing US ally Israel of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

Iran's Foreign Ministry said in a statement that letting Israel resume its deadly strikes and block all aid to Gaza "poses catastrophic consequences for global peace and security."

The United Nations' Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory urged for the ceasefire in Gaza to be immediately reinstated.

"Waves of airstrikes occurred across the Gaza strip since the early hours of the morning ... This is unconscionable. A ceasefire must be reinstated immediately," Muhannad Hadi said in a statement.

The UN human rights chief said he was horrified by Israeli strikes on Gaza. 

"I am horrified by last night's Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Gaza, which killed hundreds, according to the Ministry of Health in the strip. This will add tragedy onto tragedy," said High Commissioner Volker Turk in a statement. 

"Israel's resort to yet more military force will only heap further misery upon a Palestinian population already suffering catastrophic conditions."