UN rights chief says ‘appalled’ by deadly Israeli strike near Beirut hospital

GENEVA: The UN rights chief said Tuesday he was “appalled” by a deadly Israeli strike nearly a south Beirut hospital Monday, demanding a “prompt and thorough investigation.”
Lebanon’s health ministry said Tuesday that at least 18 people had been killed in the Israeli strike near the Rafic Hariri Hospital, Lebanon’s biggest public health facility, located a few kilometers from the city center.
“I am appalled,” United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement, insisting that “the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law concerning the protection of civilians must be respected.”
He pointed out that four children reportedly figured among the at least 18 people killed, while 60 people had been wounded.
Rescuers were on Tuesday still searching for survivors, amid fears that the toll may rise further.
The facility in the densely-populated Jnah neighborhood sustained minor damage in the strike, with windows shattered and its solar panels destroyed, its director said.
In the vicinity, four buildings were flattened by the strikes, said an AFP correspondent in the area.
Turk stressed that “in the conduct of military operations, all feasible precautions must be taken to avoid, and in any event to minimize, incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians and damage to civilian objects.”
“Hospitals, ambulances and medical personnel are specifically protected under international humanitarian law because of their lifesaving function for the wounded and the sick,” he said.
“When conducting military operations in the vicinity of hospitals, parties to the conflict must assess the expected impact on health care services in relation to the principles of proportionality and precautions.”
The UN rights chief insisted that “any incidents which affect hospitals must be subjected to a prompt and thorough investigation.”
“I repeat the UN’s call for an immediate cessation to hostilities, and remind all parties that the protection of civilians must be the absolute top priority.”
After nearly a year of war in Gaza, Israel shifted its focus to Lebanon, vowing to secure its northern border to allow tens of thousands of Israelis displaced by the cross-border fire to return to their homes.
Israel ramped up its air strikes on Hezbollah strongholds around the country and on September 30 sent in ground troops, in a war that has killed at least 1,550 people since September 23, according to an AFP tally of Lebanese health ministry figures.