A Gaza school used by the United Nations to house displaced Palestinians was struck Tuesday by shells believed to be from Israeli forces, U.N. officials said.
Workers from the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees were at the unoccupied girls' school on Tuesday after receiving reports that the school was targeted the day before, the Agence France-Presse reported. The team received clearance from Israeli forces to go inside.
"During the two hour window the U.N. staff went to the school to investigate the damage and see what happened, further shelling took place which endangered the lives of the U.N. staff and put them in serious danger," Chris Gunness, spokesman for UNRWA, told CNN.
The school had been used as shelter for 300 Palestinians who along with thousands have been displaced by the outbreak in conflict between Israel and militants in Gaza. Reports are not clear if whether or not any refugees were inside the school at the time of the shelling.
Gunness said the shells are "believed to be from the Israeli military," the Israel Defense Forces.
"...The IDF had the GPS coordinates of the girls school, which was clearly marked by a U.N. flag," the spokesman told CNN.
The school is now no longer in use and UNRWA sent a formal letter to Israel about the shelling, AFP reported.
The agency also condemned the finding of 20 rockets hidden inside one of the vacant schools last week. In the past, IDF has accused militants of stashing rockets inside U.N. shelters, but no such accusations have been made this time around, according to CNN.
An estimated 118,000 displaced civilians are being sheltered by the U.N. agency in over 60 schools throughout Gaza.
The death toll for Palestinians has reached 649 since Israel's offensive in Gaza began 15 days ago, Palestinian health officials said. Most of the victims are civilians, according to the U.N.
Two Israeli civilians and 29 Israeli soldiers have been killed during the hostilities, CNN reported.
