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A United Nations facility that was sheltering civilians in Gaza was hit by two shells on Thursday, killing at least 12 people and injuring 75 others, according to the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency.
The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said the shells struck its Khan Younis Training Centre, which was hosting about 1,500 displaced people, during fighting between Israeli forces and Palestinian militants in the city’s western outskirts.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl condemned the attack, calling it a “serious violation of international law” and a “blatant disregard of basic rules of war”.
He said UNRWA had communicated the coordinates of the facility to the Israeli military 17 times, the last time just hours before the shelling.
“This is the fourth time that one of our schools has been struck. Our staff, the very people leading the humanitarian response, are being killed. Our shelters are overflowing. Tens of thousands may soon be stranded in the streets of Gaza, without food, water and shelter if attacks on these areas continue,” he said in a statement.
He urged all parties to respect the sanctity of civilian life, humanitarian workers and UN premises, and to abide by their obligations under international humanitarian law.
The Israeli military said it was investigating the incident, adding that it had targeted several Hamas sites in Khan Younis, including rocket launchers, tunnels and command centres.
It said it was “careful to avoid civilian casualties” and that Hamas was “cynically” using civilians as human shields.
The attack came amid a surge of violence in Gaza, where more than 1,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, have been killed and more than 7,000 wounded since Israel launched its offensive on July 8, according to health officials.
Israel says it is trying to stop rocket fire from Gaza and destroy Hamas’s network of tunnels, which it says are used for infiltrating and attacking its territory.
Sixty-one Israeli soldiers and three civilians have been killed in the conflict, according to Israeli officials.
The UN Security Council has called for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire, but efforts to broker a lasting truce have so far failed.
