Annan deplores latest Israeli attack in Gaza refugee camp

The United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, today deplored the Israeli military's attack on a refugee camp in Gaza, which left at least seven Palestinians dead, including a 4-year-old girl and a 70-year-old woman, and wounded dozens more, some of them critically.

"He is especially disturbed that the [Israel Defence Forces] IDF fired tank rounds and heavy machine gun fire at two schools," a statement issued by a UN spokesman said, noting that one of the schools in the Rafah refugee camp is run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

So far in October, more than 50 Palestinians have been killed, including 15 children and three women, and nearly 300 injured, the overwhelming majority of them civilians, as a result of Israeli military actions, the statement noted.

"The Secretary-General once again calls on the Government of Israel to halt such military actions in heavily populated areas and live up to its obligations under international humanitarian law to take special care to protect civilians, as well as to ensure the security of United Nations installations," the statement said. "He reiterates his appeal to both sides to stop all acts of violence and provocation, as called for by the Security Council."