On Thursday, an Israeli airstrike hit a UN school complex functioning as a shelter for displaced Palestinians in central Gaza. Israel claimed that the shelter was simultaneously protecting Hamas militants, targeting three classrooms in the building which held 20 to 30 Palestinian militants affiliated with Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad. Dozens were killed in the strike, including women and children. An Israeli military spokesman, Lt. Col. Peter Lerner stated that he was not aware of any civilian casualties from the strike. A leading Israeli human rights group, B’Tselem, said that this attack could be classified as a war crime due to the harm of civilians who had fled there to find shelter. UN officials have also stated that this targeting of UN buildings for military purposes violates International Humanitarian law. At least one bomb used in the strike seems to have been a U.S. weapon.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/06/06/world/middleeast/israel-gaza-school-killing.html