EU foreign policy chief slams Israeli strikes on hospital, school housing displaced Palestinians in Gaza

By Nur Asena Erturk

ANKARA (AA) – The EU’s foreign policy chief on Monday condemned Israeli strikes on a hospital and a school that sheltered Palestinian displaced people in Gaza.

“I condemn new IDF strikes on a hospital & a school serving as shelters in central Gaza,” Josep Borrell said on X.

“Dozens of civilians seeking safety were killed & injured in dreadful circumstances.

“Mass evacuation orders, violations of IHL & disregard for civilian casualties will not make Israelis safer,” Borrell added.

On Sunday, at least five Palestinian children were killed and 12 others, including women and children, were injured in an Israeli airstrike on the al-Shati refugee camp, and 22 people were killed, including 15 children, in another airstrike on a school sheltering displaced civilians in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

Israel has continued a brutal offensive on Gaza following a cross-border attack by the Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7 last year, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.

More than 42,200 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 98,400 injured, according to local health authorities.

The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the Gaza Strip amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.

Israel faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.