UN chief condemns Israel's deadly attack on UNRWA school-turned-shelter in Gaza

By Merve Aydogan

HAMILTON, Canada (AA) – UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday condemned Israel's airstrike on a UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) school-turned-shelter in the Gaza Strip that killed dozens of displaced people.

Speaking at a news conference, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Israel's attack is "yet another tragic, horrifying" reminder of the price civilians in Gaza are paying.

Dujarric said the school, which was used as a shelter, was trying to provide essential services to civilians.

Earlier on Thursday, at least 39 displaced Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering thousands of displaced people in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.

When asked whether Guterres condemned the attack, Dujarric said: "Of course, he condemns it."

Noting that no educational services are provided in Gaza, Dujarric said 300,000 children who receive education from UNRWA are unable to access education, resulting in schools being converted into shelters.

"There is no safe place," Dujarric said, referring to the Gaza Strip, which has been subjected to relentless attacks by Israeli forces since Oct. 7 of last year, killing over 36,600 Palestinians, mostly women and children.

Regarding Israeli claims that Hamas members were present in the school, Dujarric said, "You can listen to what others are saying and you could report that. You can report what I'm saying and you make your own analysis. What I can tell you is that a large number of civilians were killed, a number of children were killed as well."

In response to Anadolu's question about whether Guterres has a red line for the Gaza crisis, Dujarric said the secretary-general does not have a "habit of drawing red lines," and that he wants the conflict to end.

The UN has repeatedly called for a cease-fire, humanitarian access, and the release of hostages, he said, adding, "In this conflict, as in many others, the secretary-general is not the one with his finger on the trigger."