 "Palestinians inspect the damage, following an Israeli strike at a tent camp in Al-Mawasi area, amid Israel-Hamas conflict, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip July 13, 2024. File Image: Reuters")
As the ongoing Gaza crisis continues to escalate, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees said that six of its employees have been killed in a recent Israeli air strike on a school in Gaza. The agency said that it was “the highest death toll” among its staff in a single incident, raising concerns over the safety of volunteers in the conflict-stricken region.
The confirmation from UNRWA came after officials and the Hamas-run Civil Defence agency noted that at least 14 people were killed when Israel struck the al-Jaouni school in Nuseirat refugee camp. The school in Gaza was used as a shelter by thousands of displaced Palestinians, BBC reported.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military noted that it carried out a “precise strike on terrorists” planning attacks from inside the school. The military of the Jewish nation insisted that it had taken strong measures to mitigate any harm to civilians.
The school targeted by Israel for the fifth time
Meanwhile, UNRWA mentioned that the Gaza school has been targeted for the fifth time in the past 11 months. On July 16, several people were reported to be killed after Israel said that it targeted several structures at the school. The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said at that time that these structures were used by Hamas.
Following the incident, UN spokesman Stéphane Dujarric told reporters the UN condemned “all air strikes that target civilians and those that also target UN facilities”. Videos of the aftermath of the strikes on Wednesday showed hundreds of people inspecting the heavily damaged ground floor of one wing of al-Jaouni school, as well as the remains of an adjoining structure that appeared to have been destroyed.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsSome of the other videos that are circulating online also showed ambulances bringing wounded men, women and children to the al-Aqsa hospital in the town of Deir al-Balah. A medical source at the al-Awda hospital in Nuseirat camp told the AFP that the bodies of nine, killed in the strike, were brought here.
Six others had been taken to the al-Aqsa hospital. Meanwhile, the Palestinian Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal eventually confirmed that the death toll now stands at 14. In a post on Telegram, the Palestinian agency noted that one of those killed in the strike was the daughter of one of the rescue workers, Momin Salmi, who was operating in the region.
Amid backlash, the IDF made it clear that they took measures to ensure that civilian lives were not harmed during the strike. “Numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence,” the Israeli forces said in a statement.
“This is a further example of the Hamas terrorist organisation’s systematic abuse of civilian infrastructure in violation of international law,” the Israeli military furthered. Meanwhile, Gaza’s Hamas-run government media office called the Wednesday strike a “brutal massacre”. “We call on all parties to the conflict to never use schools or the areas around them for military or fighting purposes,” the UNRWA said after confirming the death toll.