MADRID, 20 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
The United Nations Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported this Sunday the death of at least 176 people who were taking refuge from Israeli bombings in their schools in the Gaza Strip.
“Since the war began, at least 176 people sheltering in UNRWA facilities have been reported killed and almost 800 injured during shelling by Israeli forces,” said the mission’s commissioner general, Philippe Lazzarini. which has indicated that they have not been able to confirm the number of victims at the moment but that they are verifying them.
However, it has confirmed that at least 17 of its facilities have been directly bombed. “The large number of UNRWA facilities affected and the number of civilians killed cannot simply be ‘collateral damage’. There were families in most of the affected facilities,” he added.
Thus, he highlighted that among the families there are elderly people, parents and children, and recalled that all the buildings “were clearly marked” as UN facilities with a blue flag. In addition, Lazzarini has emphasized that the mission periodically shares the coordinates of the buildings with the parties to the conflict.
“This cruel war is reaching a point of no return when all the rules are not respected, with a clear disregard for civilian lives. I call once again for humanity to prevail and for a humanitarian ceasefire right now “, Has expressed.
Likewise, he has indicated that the attack on the Al Fajura school, located in the north of Gaza and converted into a shelter, left at least 24 dead. At the beginning of the month, another attack left twelve people dead and 54 injured.
“This is further proof that no one and no place is safe in Gaza. Once again, shelters intended to provide safety and protection to civilians have been attacked, killing many people, including children. These acts not only blatantly contravene the rules of war, but also show a total disregard for humanity,” he added.