Israeli defense forces have killed a total number of 18 people which includes six UN officials who were the shelter manager and five other Unrwa staff in Al- Jaouni school in Nuseirat in Central Gaza on Wednesday night.
The incident was confirmed by Antonio Gutierrez, the United Nations Secretary General, who described the attack as “totally unacceptable”.
The UN secretary general said that the attack was a total breach of international law that protects the rights and lives of civilians in a conflict zone . He said “These dramatic violations of international humanitarian law need to stop now.”
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) schools which were turned into refugee shelters since the wake of the war in October 2023.
Josep Borrell, a top diplomat in the European Union, was completely outraged by the report of the incident and said “The disregard of the basic principles of international humanitarian law, especially protection of civilians, cannot and should not be accepted by the international community.”
The German foreign ministry has also expressed its concern over the attack and condemned the Israeli killing of United Nations Workers.
Israeli authorities have defended their actions and claimed that they launched the air strike based on an intelligence report that there was a Hamas “command and control operation center” in the school.
They further claimed that the Hamas militants were using the refugees as human shields against Israeli forces while coordinating attacks against Israel.
UNRWA has claimed that the Wednesday attack was the deadliest on the organization since the beginning of the war in Gaza. The organization further revealed that a total number of 220 of its members have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war.
Philippe Lazzarin, the UNRWA agency head took to his X official account to express his grievances and concerns about Israel actions against his organization, he said “Among those killed was the manager of the Unrwa shelter and other team members providing assistance to displaced people.”
He further stated that “Humanitarian staff, premises and operations have been blatantly and unbatedly disregarded since the beginning of the war.”
The World Health Organization reported that more than 95,000 people have been wounded, while a quarter are from suffering “life-changing injuries” including amputations that will require years of support.