UN chief demands change of Israeli strategy after aid worker deaths

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Gehad Hamdy/dpa
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres speaks during a press conference at the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. Gehad Hamdy/dpa
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UN Secretary General António Guterres has called for a fundamental change in strategy by the Israeli military following the attack that killed seven international humanitarian aid workers in the Gaza Strip.

He acknowledged that Israel had admitted its responsibility for the deaths and announced some disciplinary measures.

"But the essential problem is not who made the mistakes, it is the military strategy and procedures in place that allow for those mistakes to multiply time and time again," he said.

"Fixing those failures requires independent investigations and meaningful and measurable change on the ground."

Since the start of the Gaza war almost six months ago, nearly 200 humanitarian aid workers have already been killed, some 175 of them UN staff, Guterres said.

"In its speed, scale and inhumane ferocity, the war in Gaza is the deadliest of conflicts – for civilians, for aid workers, for journalists, for health workers, and for our own colleagues," he said, noting that Sunday marks six months since the start of the war.