Customize Consent Preferences

We use cookies to help you navigate efficiently and perform certain functions. You will find detailed information about all cookies under each consent category below.

The cookies that are categorized as "Necessary" are stored on your browser as they are essential for enabling the basic functionalities of the site. ... 

Always Active

Necessary cookies are required to enable the basic features of this site, such as providing secure log-in or adjusting your consent preferences. These cookies do not store any personally identifiable data.

No cookies to display.

Functional cookies help perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collecting feedback, and other third-party features.

No cookies to display.

Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics such as the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.

No cookies to display.

Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.

No cookies to display.

Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with customized advertisements based on the pages you visited previously and to analyze the effectiveness of the ad campaigns.

No cookies to display.

Banner Left
Banner Right

UN chief visits devastated Gaza

UN chief visits devastated Gaza

GAZA – Voicing shock at stark scenes of destruction, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon visited the Gaza Strip yesterday, and Israel was poised to withdraw its troops before the US presidential inauguration later in the day.

Ban, on a Middle East tour, was the highest-ranking international figure to visit the territory since separately declared ceasefires by Israel and Hamas ended a 22-day Israeli offensive and Palestinian cross-border rocket attacks.
‘I have seen only a fraction of the destruction. This is shocking and alarming,’ Ban said, condemning the ‘excessive use’ of force by Israel and militants’ rocket salvoes.
‘These are heartbreaking scenes I have seen and I am deeply grieved by what I have seen today,’ he told a news conference held against a backdrop of still smoldering food aid in a UN warehouse set ablaze by Israeli gunfire last Thursday.
Echoing his comments at the time, Ban called the Israeli attack on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency compound outrageous and demanded an investigation.
Israel apologised after the incident but said its forces were responding to shooting from gunmen at the United Nations Relief and Works (UNRWA) facility.
Hamas held a rally outside the compound during Ban’s visit, calling for international recognition of its Gaza-based government.
The United Nations and other members of the ‘Quartet’ of Middle East mediators – the United States, the European Union and Russia – have said there could be no dealings with Hamas until it recognised Israel, renounced violence and accepted existing interim peace deals.
Ban called for Palestinian reconciliation and said the UN would work with any united Palestinian government to rebuild the Gaza Strip.
Israeli political sources said Israel planned to complete its troop pullout before Barack Obama’s inauguration, scheduled for 12 p.m. EST. Analysts saw the withdrawal as an effort to avoid any tension with the new U.S. president.
Many Palestinians returned to the rubble of what used to be their homes in Gaza city suburbs that were hard hit during the fighting. They picked through debris, trying to salvage belongings. – Nampa-Reuters

Stay informed with The Namibian – your source for credible journalism. Get in-depth reporting and opinions for only N$85 a month. Invest in journalism, invest in democracy –
Subscribe Now!

Latest News