European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called on Saturday for an “independent investigation and accountability of the perpetrators” responsible for the bombing of the International Committee of the Red Cross office in the Gaza Strip and the killing and wounding of dozens.

Borrell added, in a series of posts on his account on the X platform: “The (Gaza) Red Cross must be able to safely carry out all its duties under the Geneva Conventions, including humanitarian protection, assistance to victims, and access to prisoners.”

Condemning the bombing of the Red Cross office in Gaza, the European official said: “There is a need to conduct an independent investigation and hold those responsible accountable.”

On Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross denounced the fall of Israeli shells near its office in the city of Rafah, south of the Gaza Strip, causing damage to it.

It warned that such incidents endanger the lives of civilians.

The committee said, "High-caliber projectiles fell a few meters away from the office and residence of the International Committee of the Red Cross, west of Rafah, on Friday afternoon."

It added, "The strike caused material damage to our office, which is surrounded by hundreds of displaced civilians living in tents, including many of our Palestinian colleagues and their families."

It pointed out that "this incident caused a large influx of victims to the Red Cross field hospital in the area, where it received at least 22 dead and 45 wounded, with reports of additional injuries."