UN condemns Israeli 5th strike on school sheltering displaced Gazans

HAMILTON, Canada

The UN said Wednesday that Israel has struck a school in the central Gaza Strip for the fifth time in 11 months that is run by the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) that shelters displaced civilians.

UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters that the school was used as a shelter and that information had been previously shared with the Israeli army. He said the UN is "trying to confirm reports that some UNRWA staff members were killed in the attack."

"Our colleagues on the ground are trying to evaluate the situation," he said.

At least 14 people, including UNRWA staff, were killed and several injured in the Israeli strike, according to the Gaza Media Office.

Dujarric said the UN is in contact with the Israeli military regarding the strike but has yet to receive an explanation.

Asked if the UN condemns the attack, Dujarric said: "We condemn all airstrikes that target civilians and those that also target UN facilities."

UN facilities should not be targeted or used for military purposes by any side in the conflict, he added.

Israel has systematically targeted civilian facilities, including schools, hospitals and places of worship, amid its offensive against Gaza.

Targeting civilian facilities can constitute a war crime, under the rules of war.

Last month, at least 100 people were killed and dozens injured in a strike on the Al-Taba’een School in Gaza City, where more than 6,000 displaced people had been sheltering.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 Hamas attack despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Nearly 41,100 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed and more than 95,000 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the territory’s entire population amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel faces accusations of genocide for its actions in Gaza at the International Court of Justice.