Red Cross Chief Jakob Kellenberger in the Gaza

Tuesday, January 13, 2009 at 5:13 pm

GENEVA: International Committee of the Red Cross chief Jakob Kellenberger has arrived in the Gaza Strip for a three-day visit to the territory and Israel, his agency said Tuesday.

Kellenberger is planning to hold talks with senior Israeli and Palestinian officials and to visit the embattled Al-Shifa hospital in the Gaza Strip, the ICRC said in a statement.

A spokeswoman for the agency told media he had already arrived in Gaza.

The ICRC, which has a dual role as a relief agency in conflicts and the guardian of the Geneva Conventions, has been unusually outspoken over the past week about the impact of the fighting on civilians and health workers.

Last Thursday, the agency accused Israel of failing to meet its obligation under international humanitarian law to care for the wounded after it found a group of wounded people and corpses unattended near an Israeli army position.

The ICRC has also put on public record its concern about the number of casualties and civilian buildings, including hospitals, damaged in the fighting, underlining that international law forbids any attacks on civilians.

Kellenberger has backed up repeated calls for unrestricted safe passage for ambulances at all times.