The UN School Gaza Airstrike resulted in the tragic deaths of six UN staff members during an Israeli strike!
The UN reports that one of its schools in Gaza has been hit in an Israeli airstrike, killing six of its employees. The school, in the Nuseirat refugee camp, was being used as a shelter for hundreds of displaced Palestinians. According to the Gaza Civil Defence, 18 people have now been killed in the strike. An Israeli military statement said it had targeted terrorists planning attacks from the school and took steps to avoid hurting civilians.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres described the attack as a “dramatic violation of international law.” This incident has been the deadliest involving the UN staff since the war between Israel and Hamas began in October. Unrwa-the UN agency for the Palestinian refugees-mentioned that the school had been hit five times in the past 11 months.
Hamas, which Israel, the UK, and others consider a terrorist group-denied using schools for military purposes. The country’s ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, defended the strike, saying the UN should not criticize Israel’s fight against terrorists.
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The war started after Hamas attacked southern Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Since then, Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry says over 41,000 people have died in Gaza.
The UN strongly condemned any airstrikes targeting civilians or UN facilities. Footage from the airstrike’s aftermath showed heavy damage at the school and wounded people being taken to a hospital. Hamas identified one of the victims as the daughter of a rescue worker.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said they aimed at Hamas members using the school as a command center. They used precise methods to minimize civilian harm, but Gaza’s Hamas-run government called it a “brutal massacre.” Unrwa later confirmed two airstrikes had hit the school, which housed around 12,000 people, mainly women and children.
Unrwa emphasized that schools and civilian areas should never be used for military purposes and must be protected. They urged all parties to keep schools safe and not turn them into battle zones.
Unrwa also reported that nearly 70% of its schools in Gaza had been hit during the conflict. So far, 214 Unrwa staff and 563 displaced people in their shelters have died. Israel has accused Unrwa of supporting Hamas, though the agency denies it. In August, the UN fired some Unrwa staff after investigating their possible involvement in the October 7 attack.
In a separate incident, two Israeli soldiers died, and eight others were injured in a helicopter crash during a mission to evacuate a wounded soldier in southern Gaza. The cause of the crash is still being investigated.
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