Fifteen killed while seeking refuge at UN school in Gaza
Associated Press
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip
A U.N. school in Gaza crowded with hundreds of Palestinians seeking refuge from fierce fighting came under fire Thursday, killing at least 15 civilians.
Palestinian officials blamed Israel for the shelling, which wounded dozens and came on the deadliest day so far of the current round of fighting. However, the Israeli military said the school “was not a target in any way” and raised the possibility the compound was hit by Hamas rockets.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon angrily denounced the attack, saying the killing must “stop now.” But the frantic diplomatic efforts spanning the region were running into a brick wall: Israel demands that Hamas stop firing rockets without conditions, while Gaza’s Islamic militant rulers insist the seven-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade of the territory must end first.
“Many have been killed — including women and children, as well as U.N. staff,” Ban said in a statement, though he did not elaborate and a later U.N. communique made no mention of humanitarian workers being among the casualties.
The U.N. said it had been trying to achieve a humanitarian pause in the fighting to allow the evacuation of civilians from the area.
Kamel al-Kafarne, who was in the school, said people were boarding buses when three tank shells hit.
“We were about to get out of the school, then they hit the school. They kept on shelling it,” he said.
It was the fourth time a U.N. facility has been hit in Gaza fighting since the Israeli operation began July 8. UNRWA, the U.N’s Palestinian refugee agency, has said it discovered dozens of Hamas rockets hidden inside two vacant schools, but U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq said the school hit Thursday in the northern town of Beit Hanoun was not one of them.
The U.N. has also expressed alarm that rockets found in the schools have gone missing after they were turned over to local authorities in Gaza. “Those responsible are turning schools into potential military targets, and endangering the lives of innocent children,” U.N. staff and anyone seeking shelter there, a U.N. statement said.
Fighting was fierce across Gaza on Thursday, and at least 119 Palestinians were killed, making it the bloodiest day of the 17-day war. That raised the overall Palestinian death toll to at least 803, Gaza health official Ashraf al-Kidra said. Israel has lost 32 soldiers, all since July 17, when it widened its air campaign into a full-scale ground war. Two Israeli civilians and a Thai worker in Israel have also been killed by rocket or mortar fire.