An Israeli missile strike killed at least 33 people who were sheltering inside a school, located within a central Gaza refugee camp, in the early hours of Thursday morning, the United Nations said.
The Israeli military alleges that there were Hamas militants located inside the school but the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) maintains that the building was sheltering displaced Palestinians and UN employees - and that they are unable to verify the presence of any armed groups.
"Another horrific day in Gaza. Another UNRWA school turned shelter attacked," Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner general of the UNRWA posted to X.
"This time in Nuseirat, in the Middle Areas, hit overnight by the Israeli Forces without prior warning to the displaced or the UNRWA. At least 35 people were killed and many more injured. The school was sheltering 6,000 displaced people when it was hit."
Another horrific day in #Gaza.
— Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) June 6, 2024
Another @UNRWA school turned shelter attacked.
This time in Nuseirat, in the Middle Areas, hit overnight by the Israeli Forces without prior warning to the displaced or @UNRWA.
At least 35 people were killed and many more injured.
The school… pic.twitter.com/VL5XWWhmYd
Hospital employees and reporters for the Associated Press tallied at least 14 children and nine women killed in the airstrike. Another strike on a house in Nuseirat killed six people.
Nuseirat is a refugee camp inside Gaza that was created in the aftermath of the Nakba - the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Mandatory Palestine, perpetrated by militants seeking land to build what would become the state of Israel.
Ayman Rashed, an internally displaced Palestinian from Gaza City, was sheltering inside the school during the airstrike. He told reporters that he assisted in removing five dead people from the school, including an old man and two children.
"It was dark, with no electricity, and we struggled to get out the victims," he said.
Israel Defense Forces spokesperson Lt. Col. Peter Lerner said the military was unaware of any civilian casualties, adding that it attempted "to reduce the risk of harming uninvolved civilians ... including conducting aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence information.
This is the aerial photo the @IDF released this morning following a strike on terrorists using an @UNRWA school in #Nusierat.
— Lt. Col. (R) Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) June 6, 2024
We know: What 3 rooms the #Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were using.
We assess that: 20-30 terrorists were in the compound at the time of the… pic.twitter.com/wmVBfnbsWp
