UN spokesperson breaks down in live Gaza interview: “The rights of Palestinians and their children are denied”

A 72 hour ceasefire declared in Gaza today was broken in less than 3 hours, resulting in at least forty Palestinians being killed by Israeli shelling.

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by Jessica Anais Rach |
Published on

The humanitarian truce had been negotiated to allow civilians in Gaza to receive aid relief and have time to bury the dead, as well as take care of the injured and restock food supplies.

However, only hours after the 8am start of the ceasefire, Israeli tank fire on the southern town of Rafah erupted, reportedly killing at least 40 Palestinians.

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) later said it feared 1 of its soldiers may have been abducted.

This latest bloodshed has come just days after a U.N. spokesperson broke down on live TV, after Israel shelled a refugee camp, killing 15 Palestinians.

Chris Gunness, a spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency which operates a number of schools and shelters within the Gaza Strip, broke down in an emotional live interview on Wednesday.

Speaking about the Gaza attacks, Gunness said:

‘The rights of Palestinans, even their children, are wholesale denied, and it’s appalling..”

However, he was unable to finish his sentence, soon becoming overwhelmed by emotion and breaking down.

A colleague was then seen comforting the crying man, before the interview is cut short.

Speaking to Buzzfeed after the interview aired, Gunness said the agency is “completely overwhelmed,” and that five of its employees had been killed in Gaza.

Gunness later tweeted that there are 219,657 displaced Palestinians living in U.N.R.W.A. camps after being ordered by Israel to evacuate their homes.

Gaza officials say at least 1,459 Palestinians, most of them civilians, have been killed in the battered enclave and nearly 7,000 wounded.

Sixty-one Israeli soldiers have been killed in the fighting and more than 400 wounded. Three civilians have been killed by Palestinian rockets in Israel.

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