Key Points
- Two airstrikes on a school in Gaza killed six UNRWA employees, the agency said.
- UNRWA said it was the highest death toll in a single incident.
- UN secretary-general António Guterres condemned the killings saying it’s “totally unacceptable”.
The UN Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) said six staffers were killed after two airstrikes hit a school in central Gaza, marking what it said was the highest death toll among its staff in a single incident.
“Among those killed was the manager of the UNRWA shelter and other team members providing assistance to displaced people,” UNRWA said on X.
Earlier on Wednesday (local time), the Israeli army said in a statement that it conducted a strike on a command and control centre in Nuseirat in central Gaza, which it said was operated by Palestinian militant faction Hamas.
“This school has been hit five times since the war began. It is home to around 12,000 displaced people, mainly women and children,” UNRWA added.
The Gaza government media office said the Israeli strike killed at least 18 people, including the UNRWA staff members.
UN secretary-general António Guterres told Reuters that a lack of accountability for the killing of United Nations staff and humanitarian aid workers in Gaza was “totally unacceptable”.
The Israeli military says it takes steps to reduce the risk of harm to civilians and that at least a third of the Palestinian fatalities in Gaza were militants.
It accuses Hamas of using Palestinian civilians as human shields, which Hamas denies.
The war was triggered on October 7 when , according to Israeli tallies.
Israel’s has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave’s health ministry.
