Amman, July 21 (Petra) -- The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights on Tuesday condemned what it described as an intensification of Israeli military attacks in the Gaza Strip between July 13 and July 20 that killed at least 57 people, including six children.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva, U.N. human rights office spokesperson Thameen Al-Kheetan said, "Nine months after the ceasefire was declared, there is still no safe place for Palestinians in Gaza." He expressed concern over what he said was the Israeli military's intensified campaign in recent days, which had left dozens of Palestinians killed and wounded.

Al-Kheetan said the strikes hit residential buildings, at least one tent sheltering displaced people, and other densely populated areas. He added that 34 of those killed died "away from the yellow line" separating areas controlled by Hamas from those under Israeli military control.

The rights office also said an Israeli airstrike on Tuesday killed a father, mother and their four children in Gaza City, setting their home on fire. It described the incident as the latest deadly attack since a ceasefire agreement backed by the United States was reached more than nine months ago.

The office also warned of an increase in attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, saying it had documented more than 1,260 incidents since the beginning of the year, an average of six per day.

According to the office, the incidents resulted in Palestinian deaths, damage to property, homes and farmland being set ablaze, and the displacement of families from their communities.

//Petra// AF