The assault on al-Jaouni faculty, which killed greater than a dozen Palestinians, has drawn condemnation from the UN and EU.
An Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter for displaced Palestinians in Gaza that killed 18 folks has drawn fierce world condemnation.
The assault flattened a part of the al-Jaouni faculty in Nuseirat on Wednesday and killed six staff from UNRWA, the United Nations company for Palestine refugees, which runs the varsity. The company stated it was the very best dying toll amongst its staff in a single incident in its historical past.
“Amongst these killed was the supervisor of the UNRWA shelter and different staff members offering help to displaced folks,” it stated on X.
UN Secretary-Common Antonio Guterres branded the strike “completely unacceptable”.
His spokesman Stephane Dujarric stated ladies and kids have been among the many useless.
European Union international coverage chief Josep Borrell stated he was “outraged” by the deaths and the strikes confirmed a “disregard of the fundamental rules” of worldwide humanitarian legislation.
Jordan’s Ministry of Overseas Affairs spokesman Sufyan Qudah issued a press release denouncing the assault through which he stated: “Israel’s continued violation of worldwide legislation and worldwide humanitarian legislation is a results of the absence of a robust and decisive worldwide stance.”
The director normal of the World Well being Group, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, additionally condemned the strike, writing on X: “The carnage in Gaza should cease.”
‘Heartbreaking scenes’
Al Jazeera’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah, additionally in central Gaza, described the chaotic scenes when victims of the assault on the varsity have been taken to hospital.
“Individuals are bidding farewell to their kinfolk pronounced useless on the hospital. One one who is in essential situation was pulled from the hospital simply to say goodbye to members of the family killed within the assault. It was a heartbreaking scene,” he stated.
Mahmoud stated this “shouldn’t be the primary time we’ve seen UN-run evacuation centres attacked”.
“These amenities are marked, their coordinates shared with the Israeli army. They’re identified to have became shelters for displaced households. However the UN’s blue and white colors on the shelters shouldn’t be defending the folks inside,” he stated.
Israeli army says faculty a ‘reputable goal’
The Israeli army on Thursday stated it had performed a “exact strike” on Hamas fighters throughout the faculty grounds.
It didn’t elaborate on the end result however stated “quite a few steps” have been taken to cut back the danger to civilians.
With out offering proof, Israeli authorities spokesman David Mencer stated the varsity was “not a college” and had grow to be “a reputable goal” as a result of Hamas used it to launch assaults.
Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani stated UNRWA had not offered the names of its killed staff “regardless of repeated requests” and a army inquiry discovered that “a big variety of the names [of the dead] which have appeared within the media and on social networks are Hamas terrorist operatives”.
In response, UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma stated the company was “not conscious of any such requests”, it offered Israel annually with an inventory of its workers and it “referred to as repeatedly” on Israel and Palestinian fighters “to by no means use civilian amenities for army or preventing functions”.
UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini stated after the varsity strike that at the least 220 members of the company’s workers had been killed within the conflict.
