13 killed in Israeli attack of UN-run center in Gaza’s Khan Younis

By Diyar Guldogan

WASHINGTON (AA) - At least 13 victims were killed and dozens injured in an Israeli artillery shelling of a UN-run training center sheltering displaced residents in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, a UN spokesman said Thursday.

"At least 13 people were killed and 56 injured. 21 of those people were injured critically, in what should have been a place of safety," Stephane Dujarric told the reporters in New York.

His remarks came one day after Israel hit the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) Khan Younis Training Centre -- a building housing 800 displaced residents.

UNRWA said there are 43,000 internally displaced residents who are registered in the massively overcrowded shelter.

"I want to underscore as I said yesterday that we do share the location of our shelters directly with the Israeli authorities and had received assurances that people inside of them would be safe," said Dujarric.

The UN continues to urge all parties to take every precaution to minimize harm and protect civilians and civilian objects, and to protect hospitals, clinics, medical personnel and UN premises in accordance with international law, he added.

Asked whether the facility was "actually" hit by Israeli tank fire, Dujarric said: "That is the understanding of my colleagues on the ground."

- 'Shocking video'

Dujarric was asked for footage captured by British broadcaster, ITV News, in Gaza that showed a man being shot as he was walking on a road with a group of people, one of whom was carrying a white flag.

"We have seen the shocking video. We don't have any corroboration about the incident itself. We've only seen the video," he said.

"I think what it reinforces for us is a point we've been making since the beginning that no place in Gaza is safe for civilians. And we've seen this over and over again. Whether it's people in the streets, trying to evacuate, whether it's people in shelters," he said.

Human rights colleagues are continuing to monitor the situation and are pushing for an investigation into all these cases, said the spokesman. "All of these cases need to be investigated."

Dujarric said he "is not doubting the veracity of what he saw," adding: "What I'm saying is that we only have the video. To make a definitive statement, what we need to have more information on the context of what was happening."

- ICJ 'fully independent' from UN chief

About the upcoming ruling by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on genocide against Israel, Dujarric said the Court is a major organ of the UN but is "fully independent" from Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

"He will not ask nor will receive (any previous advance), given his full respect for the independence of the Court. He, like all of us, watch the developments in the Court closely.

"We need to see what the judgment will be, what the decision will be, what the opinion of the court will be, and we will react to it once we have it," he said.

The Hague-based court will render its verdict Friday concerning South Africa’s genocide lawsuit against Israel.

South Africa filed a lawsuit Dec. 29 with the ICJ requesting an injunction against Israel on the grounds that Tel Aviv’s onslaught on Gaza violates the Genocide Convention.

Israel has pounded Gaza since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas, on Oct. 7, killing at least 25,900 Palestinians and injuring 64,110. Nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.