JERUSALEM (dpa-AFX) - The UN agency for Palestinian refugees says the deadly Israeli airstrike on a UN-run refugee camp in Gaza was carried out without prior warning to the hundreds of displaced inmates or UNRWA.
At least 45 people were killed and dozens of others were injured when missiles fired by an Israeli warplane fell on a UN-run school-turned refugee camp in Nuseirat, accommodating 6000 displaced people in central Gaza.
According to IDF, the airstrike was targeting a Hamas compound operating inside the school.
Reports quoting the Israeli military said that the strike was only given the go-ahead after aerial surveillance, with additional measures taken to reduce the risk to civilians.
At a news conference, an Israeli army spokesperson published the names of nine Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants who he said had been killed in the attack.
Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of UNRWA, said claims that armed groups may have been inside the shelter are shocking, and that the agency is unable to verify these claims.
He said UNRWA shares the coordinates of all its facilities, including the school that was attacked Wednesday night, with the Israeli Army and other parties to the conflict.
'Attacking, targeting or using UN buildings for military purposes are a blatant disregard of International Humanitarian law,' he said in a statement posted on X.
He demanded that targeting UN premises or using them for military purposes must stop, and all those responsible must be held accountable.
Since the war in Gaza began, more than 180 UNRWA buildings were hit and more than 450 displaced people were killed as a result, according to the UN agency.
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