AMMAN, Jordan

Jordan denounced on Sunday an Israeli attack on a UN-run school housing displaced Palestinians, which left at least 16 people dead in the central Gaza Strip.

A Foreign Ministry statement called the Israeli attack "a blatant violation of international law, humanitarian principles, and basic human values, and a direct challenge to international calls for ending the war and safeguarding civilian lives."

"The recurrent assaults on humanitarian facilities and shelters, which are supposed to be safeguarded under international law, represent a blatant breach of international humanitarian law and international norms," it added.

The ministry repeated its calls for the international community and the UN Security Council to "take prompt and decisive actions to halt these atrocities and ensure international protection for Palestinian civilians."

The Israeli army claimed that it had targeted gunmen inside the school run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Nuseirat refugee camp.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 38,150 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,800 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi