An Israeli attack has killed at least 16 Palestinians and injured 50 others at UNRWA’s Al-Jaouni school sheltering displaced people in al-Nuseirat camp in central Gaza, the Palestinian Ministry of Health said on Saturday.
verify the ministry’s numbers.
A displaced man at the school told children were among the injured.
“There was a swing here, swings were here, (children) were playing. What was their fault?” he said as he held his little daughter. “We barely found this place in the school, but even the school is not safe.”
several injured children arriving at a nearby hospital following the attack.
The Israeli military said in a statement on Saturday militants were operating in structures located in the school area.
“This location served as a hideout and operational infrastructure from which attacks against IDF (Israel Defense Forces) troops operating in the Gaza Strip were directed and carried out,” the statement added.
independently verify the Israeli military’s claim.
UNRWA Communication Director Juliette Touma told UNRWA does not have all the information yet, adding that half of UNRWA’s facilities in Gaza have been hit since October 7.
“At least 500 people sheltering in those (UNRWA) facilities have been killed, many were women and children,” she added.
The Egyptian Foreign Ministry said it “condemned in the strongest terms” the attack on the UNRWA building, which it said “houses thousands of displaced civilians.”
Jordan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs denounced the strike and what it called Israel’s “clear disregard for the rules of international law,” saying that humanitarian facilities and shelters must be protected under international law.
The news comes just as it appeared some progress was being made in long-stalled hostage release and truce negotiations. A senior Hamas official told the militant group was ready to reconsider its insistence that Israel commit to a permanent ceasefire in Gaza before signing an agreement that would usher in a temporary truce and begin a process to release hostages.
Commenti