The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, expressed his dissatisfaction with the increasing number of civilian casualties in the Gaza Strip and the destruction of a building housing the offices of Al-Jazeera Network and the Associated Press, this came at a time when members of the UN Security Council are preparing to hold a session on Sunday to discuss developments in the Gaza Strip and the occupied territories.
Stefan Dujarric, spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations, said on Saturday in a statement that Guterres was "extremely disturbed by an Israeli air strike that destroyed a high-rise building in Gaza City that housed the offices of many international media organizations."
He added that the Secretary-General expressed his dismay at "the increasing number of civilian casualties, especially the killing of 10 members of one family - including children - in an Israeli air strike," referring to the bombing of a house in the Shati refugee camp in the Gaza Strip on Friday night.
Dujarric continued, saying that the Secretary-General reminds all parties that any indiscriminate targeting of civilians and the media violates international law and must be avoided at all costs.
Earlier on Saturday, Israeli warplanes destroyed the Al-Galaa Tower, which houses the Al-Jazeera network office in Gaza and other media outlets such as the American Associated Press, as well as 60 apartments and offices for lawyers and doctors.
Al-Jazeera Media Network issued a statement confirming that the Israeli army gave the residents of Burj Al-Galaa only a very short time to evacuate the place before bombing it, considering that "what Israel has done is a barbaric act aimed at the safety of our journalists and preventing them from revealing the truth."
The network also held the Israeli government fully responsible, and said, "We will continue taking legal measures."
Meanwhile, Arab, Islamic and international reactions continued to the ongoing Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip, occupied Jerusalem and the West Bank, and many parties called on the UN Security Council to intervene to save the lives of the Palestinians.
The Security Council is scheduled to meet on Sunday to discuss these developments after its members failed last week to agree on a statement on the events.
US-Israeli talks
On the other hand, a spokesman for the US Defense Department, John Kirby, said that Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin had contacted his Israeli counterpart, Benny Gantz, during which he reiterated what he called Israel's right to defend itself.
The minister strongly condemned the continuing attacks by Hamas and what he described as other terrorist groups that target Israeli civilians, he said.
The spokesman added that Austin stressed the need to restore calm.
For his part, Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that he spoke with his American counterpart, who assured him of Israel's right to defend itself, as he put it.
He added, "I thank all the heads of state who expressed their support for Israel, and sorry for some countries and organizations that do not deal with the facts as they are. Instead of pressuring Hamas to cease fire, it ignores its war crimes against Israel and puts pressure on us."
In his speech, Gantz called on the Israelis to exercise caution and follow the instructions of the Civil Defense, stressing that Israel goes through "not easy" days.