Israeli fire kills refugees in Gaza UN school At least 19 die in Jabaliya attack condemned by UN agency as source of universal shame that breaks international law Israeli shells have struck a UN school in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 19 people and wounding scores more, after Israeli ground troops made a significant push into the territory. Wednesday’s shelling of the Jabaliya refugee camp was the second time in a week that a UN school sheltering hundreds of homeless Palestinians had been hit, with the latest violence pushing the Gaza death toll over 1,280. Christopher Gunness, the UNRWAs spokesman, said the attack was a source of universal shame and blamed Israeli forces. We have visited the site and gathered evidence. We have analysed fragments, examined craters and other damage. Our initial assessment is that it was Israeli artillery that hit our school, in which 3,300 people had sought refuge. I condemn in the strongest possible terms this serious violation of international law by Israeli forces. I call on the international community to take deliberate international political action to put an immediate end to the continuing carnage. Many of those in the school had fled their homes in northern Gaza after Israel dropped leaflets warning them of an upcoming phase of action. The Israeli military said fighters near the UN school had fired mortar bombs and Israeli forces had shot back. Earlier this morning, militants fired mortar shells at [Israeli] soldiers from the vicinity of the UNRWA school in Jabaliya. In response, soldiers fired towards the origins of fire, and were still reviewing the incident, a spokeswoman said. Israel announced a four-hour humanitarian window on Wednesday, starting at midday GMT, but said it did not include areas where its soliders were operating - about half of Gaza. Hamas said it would not abide by the pause, unless its conditions were met - namely, the end of the blockade of Gaza. At least 1,300 Palestinians have died in Israels invasion, according to the Gazas health ministry figures. An official for UNRWA, the UNs Palestinian refugee agency, told the AFP news agency that the shelling hit a bathroom and two classrooms inside the girls school. Al Jazeeras Imtiaz Tyab, reporting from Gazas Kamal Adwan hospital, where many of the injured were brought, put the number of wounded at more than 90. Israeli rockets hit Gazas largest refugee centre Looking around me I can see some with what appears to be shrapnel wounds and some with far more serious wounds, he said. He said people there did not know why Israel had hit the shelter, adding that the attack caused panic among people living in different UN-run shelters. As we were driving to the hospital, we saw families with many children leaving other UN schools. They feel insecure. There seem to be no safe shelter for them, not even in UN schools, our correspondent said. At least 180,000 Palestinians have sought shelter in about 80 UNRWA schools, according to the agency. The Israeli army had begun heavy tank shelling in the area a couple of hours prior to the incident. Source: Al Jazeera and agencies
Posted on: Wed, 30 Jul 2014 16:20:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015