Blinken again asks Israel to protect civilians after UN shelter attack

LUANDA — US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday renewed calls for Israel to protect civilians after a deadly strike on a UN shelter in Gaza that brought rare US condemnation.

Two tank shells struck the UN shelter Wednesday in Gaza's main southern city of Khan Younis, killing 12 people, according to the United Nations.

On a visit to Angola, Blinken told reporters that the UN shelter "is essential and it has to be protected."

"We have reaffirmed this with the government of Israel and it is my understanding that they are, as is necessary and appropriate, looking into this incident," Blinken said, without saying at what level discussions took place.

The Israeli army is the only force known to have tanks operating in the Gaza Strip. It said it would conduct a "thorough review" and held out the possibility that the strike was a "result of Hamas fire."

In contrast with Israel's frequent criticism of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA, Blinken credited the agency for its efforts "to help people who are in desperate need."

"The work that the UN is performing in Gaza is quite literally life-saving and no one else can do it — and no one else is doing it," he said.

The war erupted after Hamas militants staged an unprecedented attack inside Israel on Oct. 7 that killed around 1,140 people, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures.

Israel's relentless military campaign on Gaza since has left at least 25,900 people dead,  about 70 percent of them women, children and adolescents, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.