UN says Israeli strike killed six of its Gaza staff

The UN bureau for Palestinian refugees says six of its employees person been killed successful an Israeli aerial onslaught connected 1 of the schools it runs successful cardinal Gaza.

Unrwa said it was "the highest decease toll among our unit successful a azygous incident" since the commencement of the warfare betwixt Israel and Hamas successful October.

The Hamas-run authorities media bureau said 18 radical were killed successful the onslaught connected al-Jaouni schoolhouse successful Nuseirat exile camp, which is being utilized arsenic a structure by thousands of displaced Palestinians.

Israel's subject says it carried retired a “precise onslaught connected terrorists” readying attacks from wrong the school, adding that it had taken measures to mitigate harm to civilians.

Unrwa said it was the 5th clip the schoolhouse had been deed implicit the past 11 months.

In July, 16 radical were reportedly killed successful a strike which the Israeli subject said had targeted respective structures astatine the schoolhouse utilized by Hamas fighters.

Hamas - which is proscribed arsenic a violent radical by Israel, the UK and different countries - has denied utilizing schools and different civilian sites for subject purposes.

Israeli forces launched a run to destruct Hamas successful effect to the group's unprecedented onslaught connected confederate Israel connected 7 October, successful which astir 1,200 radical were killed and 251 others were taken backmost to Gaza arsenic hostages.

More than 41,080 radical person been killed successful Gaza since then, according to the territory's Hamas-run wellness ministry.

UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told reporters the UN condemned “all aerial strikes that people civilians and those that besides people UN facilities”.

Video of the aftermath of Wednesday’s aerial onslaught showed hundreds of radical inspecting the heavy damaged crushed level of 1 helping of al-Jaouni school, arsenic good arsenic the remains of an adjoining operation that appeared to person been destroyed.

Other footage showed ambulances bringing wounded men, women and children said to person been wounded successful the onslaught to al-Aqsa infirmary successful the municipality of Deir al-Balah.

In a station connected Telegram, the Hamas-run Civil Defence bureau identified 1 of those killed arsenic the girl of 1 of its rescue workers, Momin Salmi. It said helium had not seen Shadia for 10 months due to the fact that helium had stayed successful bluish Gaza portion his woman and their 8 children had fled southwards.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said craft had “conducted a precise onslaught connected terrorists who were operating wrong a Hamas bid and power centre” embedded wrong al-Jaouni school.

“Numerous steps were taken to mitigate the hazard of harming civilians, including the usage of precise munitions, aerial surveillance and further intelligence,” it added.

“This is simply a further illustration of the Hamas violent organisation’s systematic maltreatment of civilian infrastructure successful usurpation of planetary law.”

Gaza’s Hamas-run authorities media bureau accused Israel of a “brutal massacre”.

Later, Unrwa said successful a connection that 2 aerial strikes had deed the schoolhouse and its surroundings, which were location to astir 12,000 displaced people, chiefly women and children.

"Among those killed was the manager of the Unrwa structure and different squad members providing assistance to displaced people," it said.

The bureau insisted that "schools and different civilian infrastructure indispensable beryllium protected astatine each times", adding: "They are not a target."

"We telephone connected each parties to the struggle to ne'er usage schools oregon the areas astir them for subject oregon warring purposes."

Hours earlier the incident, Unrwa said successful a concern study that astir 70% of its schools successful Gaza had been deed during the war.

It besides reported that 214 of its unit members had been killed, on with astatine slightest 563 displaced radical who had been sheltering wrong its schools and different installations.

Israel has antecedently accused Unrwa of supporting Hamas.

The bureau has denied this, but the UN said successful August that it had fired 9 of Unrwa's 13,000 unit successful Gaza aft investigators recovered grounds that they mightiness person been progressive successful the 7 October attack. Another 10 unit were cleared due to the fact that of insufficient evidence.

Israel besides alleged that hundreds of Unrwa unit were members of violent groups, but a UN reappraisal published successful April recovered Israel had not provided grounds for its claims.

In a abstracted improvement connected Wednesday, the IDF announced that 2 Israeli soldiers had been killed and 8 others injured successful a chopper clang overnight successful confederate Gaza.

The chopper was connected a ngo to evacuate a critically injured worker to a infirmary for aesculapian attraction and crashed portion landing successful the Rafah area, a connection said.

“An archetypal enquiry conducted indicates that the clang was not caused by force fire. The origin of the clang is inactive nether investigation,” it added.