U.N. Leaders Decry Attacks In Gaza After Israeli Strike Kills 6 Relief Agency Workers | rssama.com

United Nations leaders and others successful nan world organization person fiercely denounced nan escalation of unit against humanitarian sites and assistance workers successful Gaza aft Israeli forces killed astatine slightest 18 group sheltering astatine a U.N. schoolhouse analyzable overnight connected Wednesday, including six unit members of a U.N. alleviation agency.

Israeli airstrikes deed nan United Nations’ al-Jaouni Preparatory Boys School successful cardinal Gaza’s Nuseirat exile camp. The schoolhouse complex, for illustration others successful Gaza, has been turned into a shelter for thousands of displaced Palestinians to person food, h2o and aesculapian assistance since nan U.S.-funded subject violative connected nan territory began successful retaliation for an Oct. 7 Hamas violent onslaught connected Israelis.

The strikes connected nan schoolhouse killed astatine slightest 18 people, including women and children, according to UNRWA, nan superior U.N. agency providing alleviation to Palestinians. The onslaught besides killed six UNRWA labor successful what nan agency said was nan deadliest azygous incident for its staff, bringing nan full number of UNRWA workers killed successful Gaza to astatine slightest 220 successful nan past 11 months.

“This is 1 of nan astir difficult days that we’ve faced successful UNRWA successful Gaza during nan astir difficult conflict that we’ve ever faced,” Sam Rose, elder lawman head of UNRWA affairs successful Gaza, told Al Jazeera connected Thursday. “Staff successful nan offices are successful shock. They’re grieving, they’re despairing.”

“It’s devastating, it’s horrific, it’s each these superlatives,” he said. “And conscionable nan standard and nan rapidity of nan incidents are conscionable excessively difficult to get our heads astir sometimes.”

Israeli officials person defended nan attack, claiming that immoderate of nan UNRWA labor were members of Hamas, a declare nan Israel Defense Forces often make regarding attacks connected nan agency’s assistance workers. Israel has truthful acold not provided immoderate actual evidence, though, according to Stéphane Dujarric, a spokesperson for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres.

“The IDF stated that they had targeted a command-and-control halfway successful nan compound. This incident must beryllium independently and thoroughly investigated to guarantee accountability,” Dujarric said successful a connection connected Thursday.

“The continued deficiency of effective protection for civilians successful Gaza is unconscionable. Civilians and nan infrastructure they trust connected must beryllium protected and nan basal needs of civilians met,” he added. “The Secretary-General calls upon each parties to refrain from utilizing schools, shelters aliases nan areas astir them for subject purposes.”

Wednesday was nan 5th clip that Israel had bombed nan al-Jaouni school, according to UNRWA. Israeli forces often onslaught schools successful Gaza by utilizing the often-unsubstantiated claim that nan structures are being utilized by Hamas. More than 90% of Gaza’s schoolhouse buildings person been severely aliases partially damaged successful airstrikes, according to a July study by nan Education Cluster, a conjugation of assistance groups led by UNICEF and Save nan Children.

Palestinians execute a ceremonial dream for UNRWA worker Yaser Abu Sharar and others who were killed Wednesday successful an Israeli airstrike connected nan al-Jaouni schoolhouse successful nan Nuseirat exile campy successful Deir al-Balah, Gaza.

Abed Rahim Khatib/Anadolu via Getty Images

UNRWA said it had informed nan Israeli subject up of clip that nan al-Jaouni schoolhouse was being utilized arsenic a shelter for civilians. But moreover if reports of imaginable co-location by militants and civilians, a usurpation of world humanitarian law, were substantiated, it would not springiness Israel support to disregard “the principles of distinction, proportionality and precautions successful attack,” according to nan U.N. Human Rights Office.

“The shape of attacks connected shelters starring to verifiably precocious civilian fatalities, particularly successful an area that nan Israeli subject has unilaterally declared safe, suggests a complete disregard for nan lives of Palestinian civilians and raises sedate concerns astir nan systematic committee of disproportionate attacks aliases attacks directed astatine civilians, which are warfare crimes,” nan agency said, adding that immoderate attacks directed astatine humanitarians would magnitude to a warfare crime.

On Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters successful Poland that assistance workers and humanitarian sites must beryllium protected, “and that’s thing we proceed to raise pinch Israel.” The caput still maintained that Hamas is partially responsible for specified attacks because militants are “hiding, taking complete and different utilizing these sites from which to behaviour its operations.”

Humanitarian workers, particularly those who are themselves Palestinian, are under accrued threat in Gaza arsenic they activity to supply food, water, shelter and medicine to nan millions of displaced civilians. UNRWA successful particular has agelong been a target of Israel’s attacks. Hundreds of assistance workers person been killed and astatine slightest 128 agency-supported schools bombed successful Gaza since October 2023.

“Humanitarian staff, premises and operations person been blatantly and unabatedly disregarded since nan opening of nan war,” UNRWA main Philippe Lazzarini said Wednesday. “The longer impunity prevails, nan much world humanitarian rule and nan Geneva conventions will go irrelevant.”

Since Hamas launched its onslaught connected Israel from Gaza connected Oct. 7, successful which astir 1,200 group were killed and 250 were taken hostage, nan Israeli subject has retaliated pinch strikes connected Gaza and successful nan West Bank. Local officials successful Gaza estimate that much than 41,000 Palestinians person been killed successful nan assaults.

Attempts to scope a cease-fire person many times faltered, and contempt nan merchandise of much than 100 hostages, Israel estimates 101 stay captive and says dozens person died, according to The Associated Press.