Israel strike on school kills 18 people

Kathmandu:  Israel has bombed a school housing displacing Palestinians in central Gaza, killing 18 people including UN staffers.

The Al-Jawni school in Nuseirat already bombed several times throughout the 11-month war in Gaza. The latest strike on Wednesday flattened part of the UN-run facility where Gazans had sought shelter, leaving only a charred heap of rebar and concrete. “For the fifth time, Israeli forces bombed the UNRWA-run Al-Jawni School, killing 18 citizens, including two UNRWA staff members, children, and women, and injuring more than 18 others.

Israeli forces have struck several such schools in recent months, saying Palestinian militants were operating there and hiding among displaced civilians charges denied by Hamas. The Israeli military said in a statement that it had conducted a “precise strike” on a Hamas command and control center within the Al-Jawni compound.

UN chief Antonio Guterres called what is happening in Gaza “totally unacceptable”. In response, Israel’s ambassador to the UN accused Guterres of distorting reality. “It is unconscionable that the UN continues to condemn Israel in its just war against terrorists, while Hamas continues to use women and children as human shields,” Ambassador Danny Danon wrote on social media. “The solution,” he added, “is not a ceasefire, but the release of all hostages still held in Gaza and the elimination of Hamas.

According to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, which also includes hostages killed in captivity. Israel’s retaliation has killed at least 41,084 people in Gaza, According to the territory’s health ministry. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.

RSS/AFP