Hawzah News Agency (New York, US) - The UNRWA said on Tuesday in a statement that it was dismayed by the killing and wounding of dozens of civilians and children in Gaza, adding that Monday's violence and loss of life will add yet another layer of trauma onto an already untenable situation, according to Palinfo.
The UN Agency unreservedly condemned the excessive use of force against demonstrators who have the right to peaceful protest and expression.
The statement stressed that the people of the Gaza Strip have been exposed to the consequences of repeated armed conflicts and a stifling blockade over the past decade.
"UNRWA is specifically alarmed by the impact the latest developments have had on Palestine refugees who constitute over 70% of Gaza's population," the statement noted.
The UNRWA called for investigations into these grave incidents in accordance with international standards to ensure accountability for violations of international law, and demanded collective international mobilization to prevent further loss of life and injury.
"Every additional casualty is a defeat for humanity," the agency stressed.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians launched the Great March of Return in the besieged Gaza Strip Monday to demand their right of return to their villages and towns they were forcibly displaced.
The Gaza Health Ministry has reported that the death toll of the Palestinians matyred by Israeli fire in Gaza border clashes has risen to 60, while more than 2,700 people, including children, women and journalists, have been injured by Tel Aviv regime's forces who are positioned along the fence.
The Monday's rally also coincided with the moving of the US Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, in line with the Washinton's recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel in December, furthering stoking tensions and angering Palestinians.
The UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein on Monday condemned reckless killing of peaceful Palestinian protesters by Israeli forces, writing in a message carried on the UN human rights Twitter account that "shocking killing of dozens, injury of hundreds by Israeli live fire in Gaza must stop now. The right to life must be respected".
Al-Hussein also called for punishment of those behind killing of Palestinians saying that "those responsible for outrageous human rights violations must be held to account".
The Amnesty International has also stressed that the attacks on Palestinian protesters by Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip on Monday are “willful killings constituting war crimes".
The 46-day peaceful protests began on March 30, which coincided with the 42nd anniversary of the Land Day, which marks the day Israeli forces killed six Palestinians during protests against land confiscation in 1976. It continues until May 15, which marks the 70th anniversary of the Nakba, in which over 750,000 Palestinians were forcibly displaced from their homes in 1948.
Since the start of the rallies, over 105 Palestinians have been killed and at least 11,000 injured along the fence in Gaza, with no reports of Israeli casualties, according to reports.