Thu Sep 12 05:37:00 UTC 2024: ## Israeli Airstrike on UN School Shelter Kills 18, Including UN Staff
**GAZA** – An Israeli airstrike on a UN school-turned-shelter in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza on Wednesday has resulted in the deaths of at least 18 people, including six UNRWA employees. The incident, which also left 44 injured, marks the highest death toll among UN staff in a single incident during the current conflict.
The IDF claims the school was being used by Hamas militants to plan attacks and that they took steps to minimize civilian casualties. However, UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian humanitarian relief, has condemned the strike as a blatant violation of international law, pointing out that the facility had not been a functioning school since October and housed an estimated 12,000 displaced people.
Eyewitness accounts and footage from the scene paint a horrific picture of the aftermath. Debris is strewn across the compound, blood stains mark the ground, and a hole punctures a classroom. The belongings of displaced Palestinians, including canned food, are scattered among the rubble.
One man, searching desperately for his wife and children, described the scene as “brutality.” Another, Fadel Abu Hdayyeh, said the room used to store food for displaced Palestinians and that the people who died were providing aid, not fighting.
The attack comes on the heels of several other deadly strikes, including one in Qizan Al-Najjar, near Khan Younis, which killed one child and six others. Another overnight strike on a family home in Khuza’a killed at least 11 people, while a separate attack in Jabalya resulted in the deaths of nine members of the same family.
The IDF has been contacted for comment on the attacks.
The situation in Gaza continues to deteriorate, with the Palestinian Ministry of Health reporting over 41,000 deaths and 95,000 injuries since the beginning of the conflict. Nuseirat, one of Gaza’s most densely populated camps, has seen its population swell as people seek refuge from the ongoing violence.
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