- 70% of Gaza schools hit; 214 staff and 563 displaced killed.
- Accusations of UNRWA supporting Hamas; some staff dismissed
- Two Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza helicopter crash.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) reports that six of its employees were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school it operates in central Gaza. The strike hit al-Jaouni school in Nuseirat refugee camp, which is currently sheltering thousands of displaced Palestinians. Gaza’s Hamas-run Civil Defence agency confirmed that a total of 18 people were killed in the attack.
Israel’s military claimed the strike targeted “terrorists” planning attacks from the school and asserted that it had taken precautions to avoid civilian casualties. UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the attack, describing the situation in Gaza as “totally unacceptable.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres condemned the airstrike on a Gaza school, stating, “These dramatic violations of international humanitarian law need to stop now,” in a post on X (formerly Twitter). The UNRWA reported that this incident marked the highest number of staff casualties in a single event since the conflict began in October. They also highlighted that it was the fifth attack on the school in the past 11 months.
In July, a previous strike had killed 16 people, which the Israeli military claimed targeted structures used by Hamas fighters. Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Danny Danon, criticized Guterres’ remarks, accusing the UN of unfairly condemning Israel while Hamas allegedly uses civilians as human shields. Hamas, designated as a terrorist organization by Israel, the UK, and other countries, denies such claims.
The conflict, which started with a major Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7, has led to significant casualties. Since then, over 41,080 people have been reported killed in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Video footage from the aftermath of Wednesday’s airstrike on al-Jaouni school revealed extensive damage, with hundreds inspecting the wrecked ground floor and the remains of an adjoining structure. Other clips showed ambulances transporting wounded individuals, including men, women, and children, to al-Aqsa hospital in Deir al-Balah.
Survivors described harrowing scenes, with one man recounting having to step over “shredded limbs” amid the rubble. He told AFP, “We’ve been going through hell for 340 days now. What we’ve seen over these days, we haven’t even seen it in Hollywood movies, now we’re seeing it in Gaza.”
Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Bassal reported that 18 people were killed, including UNRWA staff, children, and women, with 18 others injured. UNRWA later confirmed that two airstrikes hit the school, which was sheltering about 12,000 displaced people. One of the victims was identified as the daughter of a UNRWA rescue worker who had been separated from his family for ten months.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) claimed the strike targeted a Hamas command center embedded in the school, asserting that they took steps to minimize civilian harm, including using precise munitions and aerial surveillance. The IDF accused Hamas of misusing civilian infrastructure.
In response, Gaza’s Hamas-run media office labeled the attack a “brutal massacre.” UNRWA reiterated that schools and civilian infrastructure should always be protected and called for all parties to avoid using such sites for military purposes.
Hours before the strike on al-Jaouni school, UNRWA reported that nearly 70% of its schools in Gaza had been damaged during the conflict. The agency also revealed that 214 of its staff members had been killed, along with at least 563 displaced individuals who were sheltering in its facilities.
Israel has accused UNRWA of supporting Hamas, a claim the agency denies. In August, the UN dismissed nine of UNRWA’s 13,000 Gaza staff members after finding evidence of their possible involvement in the October 7 attack. Ten others were cleared due to lack of evidence. A UN review in April found no evidence to support claims that hundreds of UNRWA staff were linked to terrorist groups.
In a separate incident on Wednesday, the IDF reported that two Israeli soldiers were killed and eight injured in a helicopter crash in southern Gaza. The helicopter, which was on a mission to evacuate a critically injured soldier, crashed while landing in the Rafah area. The IDF stated that initial investigations indicate the crash was not caused by enemy fire, though the cause is still under investigation.
