‘Compassionate leadership’ is needed — UN chief

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon strongly criticizes the respective leaderships of “the parties,” namely Hamas and Israel, for failing to care for the well-being of their citizens through the continuation of hostilities.

That the leaders are making decisions that get citizens killed is “morally wrong” and “not responsible,” he says. It’s an issue of “compassionate leadership,” he adds.

He also strongly condemns the alleged Israeli attack on an UNRWA facility on Thursday, saying that “every refuge has become a target,” and that it “raises serious questions about proportionality.”

The IDF said Sunday that an internal probe showed that the army shot at an empty schoolyard at the UNRWA school, injuring no one, and that it was not responsible for the 16 deaths.

Ban reiterates his call to stop the violence, lift the blockade on Gaza, and end “nearly half a century of occupation,” and warns that Israel may isolate itself internationally if it does not cooperate.