Belgium summons Israel's ambassador

Shafaq News / On Thursday night, Belgian Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib announced that she had summoned the Israeli ambassador to Belgium following airstrikes that destroyed offices of the Belgian Development Agency in Gaza.

The minister posted on X, "The offices of the Belgian Development Agency (Enabel) in Gaza were bombed and destroyed. Targeting civilian buildings is unacceptable. We are summoning the Israeli ambassador to clarify the matter," adding that she is coordinating with Development Minister Caroline Gennez.

Moreover, Enabel's director, Jan Van Wetter, stated on X that the agency's offices in Gaza were "destroyed yesterday in the bombing. We at Enabel are shocked. As a government agency working for the public good within the framework of international humanitarian law, we cannot accept this," accompanying his statement with two photos, one showing the building where the agency's offices were located before the alleged bombing and the other showing a pile of rubble.

In October, the Israeli army focused its airstrikes and ground operation in northern Gaza, including Gaza City, before advancing further south, with battles intensifying currently in Khan Yunis, the second-largest city in the besieged strip.

According to a report by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) published on Wednesday, 37,379 buildings, equivalent to 18% of all buildings in Gaza, were destroyed due to the Israeli military operation in November.

Since then, satellite data indicates that the destruction has more than doubled, according to Rami Al-Azza, a co-author of the report, who told Agence France-Presse, "The new data indicates that 50% of buildings in Gaza are damaged or destroyed."

Notably, the agency's offices are located in a building on Victor Hugo Street in the central Al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City.

The Israeli embassy in Belgium has not yet responded to these statements.