UN agency calls for ‘independent investigation’ into Israeli attack on school housing displaced Gazans

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) called Sunday for an "independent investigation" into an Israeli attack that killed at least 16 Palestinians at a school housing displaced people in the central Gaza Strip.

The Israeli army claimed that it had targeted Palestinian gunmen inside the UN-run school in the Nuseirat refugee camp on Saturday.

"Once again, UNRWA school hit by the Israeli Forces. The school, in the Middle Areas, was home to nearly 2,000 internally displaced," UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said in a statement on X.

"A re-occurring claim (among others) from Israel is that our facilities are being used by Palestinian armed groups. These are claims that I take very seriously," said Lazzarini. "It is exactly why I have repeatedly called for independent investigations to ascertain the facts and identify those responsible for attacks on UN premises or their misuse."

The UNRWA chief said more than half of the agency's facilities have been hit, killing 520 people and injuring nearly 1,600 others.

"The longer this war goes on, the deeper the rift will become, and the more suffering people will endure," he added.

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas.

More than 38,150 Palestinians have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 87,800 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Nine months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lie in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered it to immediately halt its military operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.