Guterres Condemns Israeli Attack on School Housing Displaced Persons in Gaza Strip

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the Israeli occupation forces’ bombing of a school housing Palestinian displaced persons in the al-Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, which killed 18 people, including six UNRWA staff members.

A statement issued by Guterres spokesman Stephane Dujarric was published on the United Nations News Centre. “The continued lack of effective protection of civilians in Gaza is unacceptable”, stressing “the need to protect civilians and the infrastructure on which they depend and to meet their basic needs as quickly as possible.”

Guterres called for compliance with international humanitarian law at all times and an immediate ceasefire, noting that the new attack brings the number of UNRWA staff killed during this aggression to 220 and demanded an independent and transparent investigation into the latest incident to ensure accountability.

The UNRWA agency said that six of its employees were killed in the Israeli shelling, including the director of the shelter center and a number of members of the team providing assistance to the displaced, noting that the school was bombed five times since the beginning of the Israeli aggression on Gaza, and that it was sheltering about 12 thousand displaced, most of them women and children.

Amal Farhat