IDF: 15 dead in Israeli attack on school housing displaced Gazans

The attack on the UN-run Abu Araban compound in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza was the fifth on a school converted into accommodation in eight days.

Tel-Aviv: A major development in the war between Israel and Hamas: Israeli jets have attacked several Hamas terrorists using a United Nations school in the central Gaza town of Nuseirat, the Israel Defense Forces confirmed on Sunday. The Civil Defense Authority in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip gave details on Sunday, saying 15 people were killed in an attack on a school housing war refugees. The Israeli military said it had targeted “terrorists” in the attack.

Advertising

Advertising

The attack on the UN-run Abu Araban school in the Nuseirat camp in central Gaza was the fifth attack on a school-turned-shelter in eight days. According to the army, Hamas used the Abu Araban school as a hideout and a base to direct and carry out attacks on Israeli soldiers.

Measures have been taken to reduce the risk of collateral damage to civilians, including the use of precision weapons and other intelligence-gathering measures. The Abu Oraiban School is operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

UNRWA, which assists Palestinian refugees, has been under fire for months. Israeli officials are demanding that the agency’s authority in the Gaza Strip be stripped and its funding cut after it was revealed that its staff were involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks. The Israeli government bypasses UNRWA in distributing humanitarian aid. The Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee recently introduced a bill that would designate UNRWA as a “terrorist organization” and strip the agency of its diplomatic immunity, tax exemption and other legal benefits.

Israel’s largest bank froze UNRWA’s account in February because of suspicious financial transfers that the agency failed to adequately explain. That same month, Israeli forces discovered a Hamas complex directly beneath UNRWA’s headquarters in Gaza City that was directly connected to the agency’s power grid. The facility housed numerous computer servers belonging to the terrorist group.

More than 100 survivors of the October 7 Hamas attacks have filed a $1 billion lawsuit against UNRWA, accusing the agency of aiding the terrorist group.

In May, the Israel Lands Authority ordered UNRWA to vacate its offices in Jerusalem due to lease violations.

Palestinian refugees are the only refugee group with their own UN agency. The rest of the world’s refugees are under the mandate of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees. Israeli officials have called for the closure of UNRWA and for Palestinian refugees to be placed under the responsibility of UNHCR.

Hamas attacks on Israeli communities near the Gaza border on October 7 left at least 1,200 people dead and 252 Israelis and foreigners taken hostage. Of the 116 remaining hostages, more than 30 are believed to be dead.

(With contributions from agencies)