Annan deplores Israeli attack on Gaza

Agence France Presse
July 23, 2002

UNITED NATIONS--UN Secretary General Kofi Annan deplores the latest Israeli air attack on the Gaza Strip, which killed 11 people and injured more than 100, UN spokesman Fred Eckhard said late Monday

"Israel has the legal and moral responsibility to take all measures to avoid the loss of innocent life. It clearly failed to do so in using a missile against an apartment building," Eckhard said in a statement.

The statement came after Israeli jets struck Gaza City, killing 11, according to medical sources.

There were initial reports that militant leader, Salah Shehade, had been killed in the air strike, but members of the radical Islamic group later announced he was still alive.

Shehade, who headed Hamas' Ezzedin al-Qassam Brigades, was one of the Palestinians most wanted by Israel.

Among those killed were Shehade's wife, one of his daughters and another member of the military wing of Hamas, Palestinian hospital sources said.

Eckhard said Annan is calling on the government of Israel to halt such actions and "to conduct itself in a manner that is fully consistent with international humanitarian law."

"The secretary general is deeply concerned about the possible consequences of this attack, and urges the government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to do all in their power to restore safety and security for the civilian population on both sides," he said