GAZA CITY
The chief of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said on Sunday that Israeli forces had shelled schools run by the agency in the Gaza Strip during its latest offensive on the blockaded coastal enclave knowing that the schools were housing displaced Palestinians.
"This was unacceptable," UNRWA Commissioner-General Piere Krahenbuhl told Anadolu Agency during a visit to a U.N. school-turned-shelter that was targeted by Israeli forces in the southern Rafah city.
"It should never have happened because these are protected U.N. buildings, housing displaced people, and in which children and adults were killed," he added.
An August 3 Israeli shelling of the school had left at least ten Palestinians dead and dozens injured, according to Palestinian health officials.
Krahenbuhl also lashed out at the Israeli army for shelling other U.N. schools in the blockaded Gaza Strip.
Six UNRWA-run schools providing shelter to thousands of displaced Palestinian civilians were targeted by Israeli forces since July 7.
Krahenbuhl said he would meet during his current visit to the Gaza Strip with the families of UNRWA staff members who were killed during the Israeli offensive.
The Israeli offensive left nearly 2,016 Palestinians, mostly civilians, dead and more than 10,000 others injured, according to Palestinian health officials.
Thousands of Gaza homes and buildings have also been reduced to rubble by Israel's shelling.
About 64 Israeli troops were also killed in combat with Palestinian fighters, while three civilians were killed by rockets fired from the Gaza Strip, according to official Israeli figures.
Palestinian factions and Israel are currently observing a 5-day truce brokered by Egypt pending indirect negotiations for a durable ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
By Hani al-Shaer
www.aa.com.tr/en
