UPDATE – Jordan, Saudi Arabia condemn Israeli strikes on UN-run school in Gaza

UPDATES WITH SAUDI REACTION, CHANGES HEADLINE

By Laith Al-Jnaidi and Ahmed Asmar

ANKARA (AA) – Jordan and Saudi Arabia strongly condemned on Thursday Israeli airstrikes on a UN-run school in the central Gaza Strip a day earlier.

At least 18 people were killed in two Israeli strikes on al-Jaouni School, where around 12,000 displaced civilians have sheltered, in the Nuseirat refugee camp on Wednesday, according to local health authorities.

At least six staff members of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) were among the victims, including the manager of the UNRWA shelter in the area.

This attack was “a flagrant violation of the rules of international law,” the Jordanian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

“Israel's continued violation of international law and international humanitarian law is nothing but a result of the absence of an effective and firm international position that ends this ongoing aggression on

the Gaza Strip, and the killing, destruction and unprecedented humanitarian disaster it produces,” it added.

The ministry called the Israeli attack “inconsistent with human and moral values and with the rules of international law, especially the Geneva Convention” relative to the protection of civilians during the time of war.

It underlined the need to ensure the protection of civilians, vital facilities that provide basic services to Palestinians and humanitarian facilities and shelters.

The Saudi Foreign Ministry, for its part, affirmed the need for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, protecting defenseless civilians and “putting an end to the unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza as a result of Israeli violations of international laws and norms.”

It renewed its categorical rejection of targeting humanitarian facilities and workers and called on the international community "to activate international accountability mechanisms and put an end to the continuous Israeli violations of international law and international humanitarian law."

Israel has systematically targeted civilian facilities, including schools, hospitals, and places of worship, amid its ongoing offensive on the Gaza Strip.

Under the rules of war, targeting such civilian facilities can constitute a war crime.

Last month, at least 100 people were killed and dozens injured in an Israeli strike on the Al-Taba’een School in Gaza City, where over 6,000 displaced people have sheltered.

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.