UNRWA commissioner-general condemns Israeli attack on Gaza school

‘Gaza is no place for children anymore. They are the first casualty of this merciless war,’ says Philippe Lazzarini

By Abdul Salam Fayez

ISTANBUL (AA) – The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) said Wednesday that the Gaza Strip is no longer a place for children following an Israeli attack on a UN-run school in Gaza City.

“Reports of another horrific attack today on one of our UNRWA schools in Gaza City,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said following the Israeli military's targeting of Salah al-Din School, which killed two Palestinians and injured 15 others, including children.

“Children reported killed and injured. Some were burnt to death,” he added. “Is there any humanity left?”

He stressed that “Gaza is no place for children anymore. They are the first casualty of this merciless war. We cannot let the unbearable become a new norm. Enough.”

“A cease-fire is beyond overdue,” he said.

Earlier Wednesday, the UN warned that ongoing Israeli military evacuation orders threaten the people of the Gaza Strip with further forced displacement, raising concerns that essential services may soon be cut off.

Eyewitnesses also confirmed to Anadolu that Israeli warplanes bombed Salah al-Din School, the ninth school to shelter displaced persons targeted by the Israeli military since early August.

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

The conflict has resulted in over 40,170 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and more than 92,740 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where over one million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.

*Writing by Mohammad Sio

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