By Palestine Chronicle Staff  

“Civilians and the infrastructure they rely on must be protected and meet the essential needs of the civilian population.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the killing of at least 18 people, including six UNRWA staff members, in Israeli airstrikes on a school serving as a shelter in the Nuseirat refugee camp of central Gaza.

The airstrikes on Wednesday raised the number of UNRWA staff killed to 220 since October 7, his spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said at a press briefing on Thursday.

“The continued lack of effective protection for civilians in Gaza is unconscionable,” Dujarric read from a statement.

“Civilians and the infrastructure they rely on must be protected and meet the essential needs of the civilian population,” he added.

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Dujarric said the Secretary-General calls upon all parties to refrain from using schools, from using shelters, and the areas around them for military purposes.

“All parties to the conflict have the obligation to comply with international humanitarian law at all times,” he stated.

Israel’s Claims

The Secretary-General cited the Israeli military as claiming that it had targeted “a command-and-control center” in the compound that was hit.

“This incident must be independently and thoroughly investigated to ensure accountability,” he said and reiterated his call for an immediate ceasefire.

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Pressed on whether the UN had any evidence of Israel’s claims that the six UNRWA workers killed in the airstrikes were resistance fighters, Dujarric said “No.”

“We’ve heard what they said and I referred to it in the statement.  We’re not in a position to confirm it, to deny it,” he added.

Medical Evacuees

Dujarric also said that the World Health Organization (WHO) and its partners, in collaboration with the United Arab Emirates, organized on Wednesday the largest medical evacuation from Gaza since October 2023.

“WHO tells us that 97 sick and severely injured patients and 155 of their companions were transported via the Kerem Shalom crossing to Ramon Airport in Israel for onward travel to Abu Dhabi for specialized care,” he said.

Ongoing Genocide

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza.

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 41,118 Palestinians have been killed, and 95,125 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip.

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Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’.

Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

Millions Displaced

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children.

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(The Palestine Chronicle)