Israel acknowledges responsibility for UN-run school massacre in Gaza, claims targeting Hamas fighters

By Khaled Yousef

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli military acknowledged on Thursday responsibility for the deadly airstrike on the UN-run school in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday, claiming it targeted nine Hamas fighters.

The attack claimed the lives of at least 18 people, including women and children along with six UNRWA staff, in the al-Jaouni School in the Nuseirat refugee camp, where around 12,000 displaced civilians have sheltered.

In its statement, the Israeli army said it targeted what it claimed as “Hamas operatives who were operating inside a command-and-control center embedded within a compound that previously served as the al-Jaouni School in the area of Nuseirat in central Gaza.”

“So far, nine Hamas members have been confirmed killed in the strike,” it added.

While the army listed the names of those targeted, it claimed that three of them worked as employees of UNRWA in Gaza.

“Upon receiving reports claiming that local Palestinian UNRWA workers were killed as a result of the strike, the IDF (army) requested that the agency provide details and names of the workers, in order to thoroughly review the claim. To date, no answers have been provided by UNRWA despite repeated requests,” the statement said.

In recent months, Israel has repeatedly targeted schools sheltering displaced civilians, committing massacres that have primarily claimed the lives of women and children.

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since a Hamas attack last October despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 41,100 people, mostly women and children, have since been killed and over 95,100 injured, according to local health authorities.

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

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

*Writing by Mohammad Sio​​​​​​​ in Istanbul