The attack on the al-Jaouni school, which killed more than a dozen Palestinians, drew condemnation from the UN and the EU.
An Israeli strike on a school converted into a shelter for displaced Palestinians in Gaza that killed 18 people has drawn fierce international condemnation.
The attack destroyed part of the al-Jaouni school in Nuseirat on Wednesday and killed six employees of UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestine refugees, which runs the school. The agency said it was the highest death toll in its history among its staff in a single incident.
“Among those killed were the director of the UNRWA shelter and other members of the team providing assistance to displaced people,” he said on X.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the strike “totally unacceptable.”
His spokesman, Stephane Dujarric, said women and children were among the dead.
European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was “outraged” by the deaths and said the strikes showed “contempt for the fundamental principles” of international humanitarian law.
Jordanian Foreign Ministry spokesman Sufyan Qudah denounced the attack in a statement in which he said: “Israel’s continued violation of international law and international humanitarian law is the result of the lack of a strong and decisive international position.”
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also condemned the strike, writing on X: “The carnage in Gaza must stop.”
“Heartbreaking scenes”
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah, also in central Gaza, described the chaotic scenes as victims of the school attack were taken to hospital.
“People are saying goodbye to their loved ones who were pronounced dead in hospital. One person in critical condition was taken out of hospital just to say goodbye to family members killed in the attack. It was a heartbreaking scene,” he said.
Mahmoud said that “this is not the first time we have seen UN-run evacuation centres being attacked.”
“These facilities are marked and their coordinates are communicated to the Israeli army. It is known that they have become shelters for displaced families. But the blue and white colors of the UN on the shelters do not protect the people inside,” he said.
Israeli army considers school a ‘legitimate target’
The Israeli military said Thursday it carried out a “precise strike” against Hamas fighters inside the school compound.
She did not give further details on the findings, but said “many measures” had been taken to reduce the risks to civilians.
Without providing evidence, Israeli government spokesman David Mencer said the school was “no longer a school” and had become “a legitimate target” because Hamas was using it to launch attacks.
Israeli army spokesman Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani said UNRWA had not provided the names of its killed employees “despite repeated requests” and that a military investigation had found that “a significant number of the names (of the dead) that have appeared in the media and on social media are those of Hamas terrorist operatives.”
In response, UNRWA spokeswoman Juliette Touma said the agency was “not aware of any such requests,” that it provided Israel with a list of its personnel each year, and that it “repeatedly called” on Israel and Palestinian fighters “never to use civilian facilities for military or combat purposes.”
UNRWA Director-General Philippe Lazzarini said after the school strike that at least 220 agency staff had been killed during the war.