Drone strikes in densely populated areas 'not acceptable', UN says

The UN has said that drone attacks in densely populated areas are ‘not acceptable’ amid an Israeli attack on Jenin.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply concerned about the developments in Jenin”, according to a statement released by his office.

But Guterres refrained from condemning the attack, instead affirming “that all military operations must be conducted with full respect for international humanitarian law,” according to the statement.

Jenin came under attack on Monday with air strikes starting at around 1 am local time (11 PM GMT) as Israeli drones and Apache attack helicopters targeted several locations in the city.

The camp is home to 13,000 people. A growing number of Palestinian fighters have risen up in the camp opposed to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank.

Earlier in the day Lynn Hastings, the UN humanitarian coordinator in Palestine, said she was “alarmed by scale of Israeli forces operation.”

A UN spokesperson told reporters on Monday, “It is not acceptable for there to be armed attacks in areas of high population density” when asked about the drone strikes.
The spokesperson says Guterres is evaluating the situation, and is “in touch with a range of parties,” while he stresses the need to avoid further escalation.