The head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) said on Wednesday that the Gaza Strip was no longer a place for children following an Israeli attack on a UN-run school in Gaza City.
“Reports of another horrific attack today on one of our UNRWA schools in Gaza City,” said UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini following the Israeli military attack on the Salah al-Din school that killed two Palestinians and injured 15 others, including children.
“There are reports that children have been killed or injured. Some have been burned,” he added. “Is there any humanity left here?”
He stressed: “Gaza is no longer a place for children. They are the first victims of this merciless war. We must not allow the unbearable to become the new norm. Enough is enough.”
“A ceasefire is long overdue,” he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, the UN warned that people in Gaza face further forced displacement due to ongoing evacuation orders from the Israeli military, raising concerns that essential services could soon be disrupted.
Eyewitnesses also confirmed to Anadolu that Israeli warplanes had bombed the Salah al-Din School, the ninth school housing displaced persons that has been targeted by the Israeli military since the beginning of August.
Israel has continued its brutal offensive against the Gaza Strip since October 7, despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate ceasefire.
According to local health authorities, the conflict has claimed over 40,170 Palestinian lives, mostly women and children, and injured over 92,740 people.
The ongoing blockade of the Gaza Strip has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine and left large parts of the region in ruins.
Israel is facing genocide charges before the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern city of Rafah, where more than a million Palestinians had sought refuge before the territory was captured on May 6.
