UPDATE – Saudi Arabia, Qatar condemn Israeli attack on UN-run school in Gaza City

UPDATES WITH QATARI STATEMENT, CHANGES DECK

By Yakoota Al Ahmad

ISTANBUL (AA) – Saudi Arabia and Qatar strongly condemned on Sunday an Israeli airstrike that killed at least 10 people at a UN-run school in Gaza City.

At least 20 other people were injured in Saturday’s attack that targeted the Abu Assi School, where hundreds of civilians have sheltered in the Shati refugee camp, according to the Civil Defense Service.

In a statement, the Saudi Foreign Ministry denounced “in the strongest terms Israel’s systematic targeting of UNRWA, its facilities, and its workers.”

On Oct. 28, Israel’s parliament moved to ban activities of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in the occupied territories, accusing agency employees of complicity in last year’s Hamas attack.

The UNRWA denied the allegations, reaffirming its neutrality and exclusive focus on refugee aid, and noted that no other organization could effectively fulfill its role.

In its statement, the ministry categorically rejected “the Israeli occupation’s continued targeting of civilians and relief and humanitarian agencies amid the silence of the international community."

It called on the international community to assume its responsibilities “towards the ongoing Israeli violations, which increase the suffering of the Palestinian people and undermine the chances of achieving peace in the region."

The Qatari Foreign Ministry warned of “the dangerous implications of the Israeli attempts to impede the activities of UNRWA, including educational services.”

It considered the Israeli strike on the UN-run school “an extension of the occupation's policies targeting defenseless civilians and civilian facilities, and a blatant violation of the principles of international law and international humanitarian law.”

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

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

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on the Gaza Strip since Oct. 7, 2023, killing nearly 43,800 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and rendering the enclave almost uninhabitable.

It faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in the blockaded enclave.

*Writing by Rania Abu Shamala