Jun 5, 2024 - World

Dozens reported dead in Israeli strike on UN school in Gaza

Barak Ravid

A boy carries a United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) sack filled with rubble from a destroyed high school in the Nuseirat camp for Palestinian refugees in February. Photo: Anas Baba/AFP via Getty Images

At least 27 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli air strike on a school run by a UN agency in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, according to the Hamas-controlled Gaza government press office.

The big picture: The air strike took place as the Biden administration is pressing for a hostage and ceasefire deal that could end eight months war in Gaza.

Zoom in: The Gaza government press office said the UNRWA school was used as a shelter for displaced Palestinians.

The Israel Defense Forces confirmed the air strike but claimed the target was "a Hamas compound embedded inside an UNRWA school."
According to the IDF, Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who belonged to the elite Nukhba Forces and took part in the Oct. 7 attack were operating in the compound.

What they're saying: "The terrorists directed terror from the area of the school while exploiting it and using it as a shelter. Several terrorists who planned to carry out terror attacks and promote terrorist activities against IDF troops in the immediate time frame were eliminated in the strike", the IDF said.

The IDF claimed that before the strike, "a number of steps were taken to reduce the risk of harming uninvolved civilians, including conducting aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence information."
Representatives for the UNRWA did not immediately respond to Axios' request for comment on Wednesday evening.

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Dozens reported dead in Israeli strike on UN school in Gaza

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