AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): The commissioner-general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) says that the number of facilities hit and civilians killed due to constant Israeli bombardment of the besieged Gaza Strip cannot just be “collateral damage."
“Most of the facilities hit had families in them including older people, parents, and children. They were all clearly marked as UN buildings carrying a blue flag. UNRWA shares the coordinates of these buildings on a regular basis with parties to the conflict,” the UN agency’s commissioner-general Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement.
Since October 7, Israel has directly hit 17 of UNRWA’s facilities in Gaza, the UN agency said.
“Once again, shelters meant to provide safety and protection to civilians have been hit, killing many people, including children. These acts not only blatantly contravene the rules of war, they also show a total disregard for humanity,” Lazzarini said.
Separately, the World Health Organization has said the al-Shifa hospital, which was once the largest and most advanced hospital in Gaza, has now turned into a “death zone.”
A team led by the WHO visited the hospital in northern Gaza after the Israeli army raided the medical complex and forcibly evacuated thousands of people taking refuge there from the regime’s attacks.
Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza is entering its 44th day, and there seems to be no end in sight to the painful tragedies there.
One of the latest Israeli attacks has hit two schools, killing scores of people. The regime targeted the UN-run al-Fakhoora School, located in Jabalia refugee camp, and another school in northern Gaza.
Israel has ordered Palestinians to move from north Gaza for so-called safety, but deadly air strikes continue to hit central and southern areas of the strip.
At least 80 Palestinians were also killed in the regime’s air strikes on residential blocks in the south of the strip.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the death toll stands at over 13,000. Women and children make up the majority of the victims.
More than 5,500 children were among the dead, alongside 3,500 women, with 30,000 more people wounded.
Another 2,700 have been reported missing, believed buried under rubble.
Since October 7, 198 Palestinians including 52 children have been killed by Israeli forces.
An additional eight, including one child, have been killed by Israeli settlers in the West Bank, including occupied East al-Quds, the United Nations says.
The number of Palestinians killed in the West Bank since October 7 accounts for 43 percent of all Palestinian fatalities this year in the West Bank – 439, it said.
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