War on Gaza: Israeli attack on school kills six UN workers
An Israeli attack on a school in Gaza run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) killed at least 18 people on Wednesday, including six of the agency’s staff members.
Around 12,000 displaced Palestinians, most of them women and children, sought shelter at al-Jawni school in Nuseirat, central Gaza, according to the UN.
Unrwa said the attack caused “the highest death toll among our staff in a single incident”.
“Among those killed was the manager of the Unrwa shelter and other team members providing assistance to displaced people,” the agency shared on X.
In an earlier statement, the Israeli army said it struck Hamas operatives in a “command-and-control centre” located in the school, but no evidence was provided.
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Unrwa said that this is the fifth time the school has been attacked since the start of Israel’s war on Gaza in October last year.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack, saying: “These dramatic violations of international humanitarian law need to stop now.”
He also described the situation in Gaza as “totally unacceptable”.
At least 220 Unrwa staff members have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war began.
Just Tragic.#Gaza
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) September 11, 2024
Six @UNRWA colleagues killed today when two airstrikes hit a school and its surroundings in Nuseirat in the middle areas.
This is the highest death toll among our staff in a single incident.
Among those killed was the manager of the UNRWA shelter and other…
Israel has previously accused Unrwa of having links with Hamas, a claim the agency has repeatedly denied.
“Humanitarian staff, premises and operations have been blatantly and unabatedly disregarded since the beginning of the war,” Unrwa Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said on X.
“The longer impunity prevails, the more international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions will become irrelevant.”
More than 41,000 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the war began on 7 October 2023, when a Hamas-led attack on Israel killed over 1,100 Israelis and saw hundreds taken captive.
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