THE UN agency for Palestinians has said that six of its staff were killed in an Israeli air strike on one of the schools it runs in central Gaza.
It is believed that around 34 people died in the attack on Wednesday, including 19 women and children, hospital officials have said.
Israeli military claimed the strike on the UN’s al-Jaouni Preparatory Boys School in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp was targeting Hamas militants planning attacks from inside the school.
UN secretary general Antonio Guterres said the attack represented “dramatic violations of international humanitarian law” in a post on Twitter/X.
He said: “What’s happening in Gaza is totally unacceptable. A school turned shelter for around 12,000 people was hit by Israeli airstrikes again today.
“Six of our UNRWA colleagues are among those killed. These dramatic violations of international humanitarian law need to stop now.”
However, Israel’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, hit out at Guterres’ post and said it was “unconscionable that the UN continues to condemn Israel in its just war against terrorists”.
More than 41,000 people have been killed in Gaza since Israel’s bombardment started following Hamas’s attack on southern Israel on October 7.
Video of the aftermath of Wednesday’s airstrike showed hundreds of people inspecting the damage caused to one of the wings of the school as well as the adjoining structure.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said aircraft had “conducted a precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a Hamas command and control centre” embedded inside al-Jaouni school.
“Numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence,” it added.
“This is a further example of the Hamas terrorist organisation’s systematic abuse of civilian infrastructure in violation of international law.”
Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office accused Israel of a “brutal massacre”.
UNRWA said that the school and its surroundings were home to around 12,000 displaced people, predominantly women and children.
It said: “Among those killed was the manager of the UNRWA shelter and other team members providing assistance to displaced people.”
The agency further added that “schools and other civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times”.
