Israel bombs UNRWA building in Gaza Strip, claiming it was 'Hamas base'

By Said Amori and Omer Erdem

JERUSALEM (AA) - The Israeli army bombed a building belonging to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip late Sunday, local media reported.

Israel’s state broadcaster KAN said Israeli forces claimed the building was a "military command center" used by the Palestinian group Hamas.

Apart from the attack, many people died in airstrikes carried out by Israeli warplanes on two schools in Gaza where displaced families had taken shelter.

Israel had previously targeted UNRWA centers in Gaza.

Israel has pounded the Gaza Strip in retaliation for a cross-border attack on Oct. 7 last year by the Palestinian group Hamas, which killed about 1,200 people. Nearly 34,700 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, the vast majority of whom have been women and children, and 78,000 others injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Nearly seven months into the Israeli war, vast swathes of Gaza lay in ruins, pushing 85% of the enclave’s population into internal displacement amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January said it is "plausible" that Israel is committing genocide in Gaza and ordered Tel Aviv to stop such acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians there.