More than 80 people were feared killed on Saturday in double Israeli strikes on the Jabalia refugee camp.
According to officials, the UNRWA-run-al-Fakhoura School in Jabalia, where hundreds of displaced Palestinians were sheltering wad attacked on Saturday morning. Another strike on a separate building in the camp killed 32 people, said an official.
Taking to X, UN aid chief Martin Griffiths said shelters are a place of safety and it should not be attacked.
“Shelters are a place for safety. Schools are a place for learning. Tragic news of the children, women and men killed while sheltering at al-Fakhouri school in northern Gaza. Civilians cannot and should not have to bear this any longer,” said Griffiths.
Shelters are a place for safety.
— Martin Griffiths (@UNReliefChief) November 18, 2023
Schools are a place for learning.
Tragic news of the children, women and men killed while sheltering at Al Fakhouri school in northern Gaza.
Civilians cannot and should not have to bear this any longer.
Humanity needs to prevail.
Also, UNICEF head Catherine Russell wrote: “We’re seeing horrifying images of children and civilians killed in Gaza – yet again – as they shelter in a school which must always be protected. The carnage must end. The suffering must end.”
We're seeing horrifying images of children and civilians killed in Gaza-yet again-as they shelter in a school which must always be protected.
— Catherine Russell (@unicefchief) November 18, 2023
The carnage must end.
The suffering must end.
This nightmare for children must end NOW!
Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) said they are investigating the reports of blasts at the refugee camp.
Amid the instensifying Israel-Hamas war, thousands of Iranians took to the streets to demonstrate against the Israeli killings.
Iran’s foreign ministry called on the international community to help stop the “killing machine and organised terrorism of the Zionist regime against the Palestinian people and hold Zionist criminals accountable to justice and international law”.
Meanwhile, Turkey President Tayyip Erdogan said his country will make efforts to rebuild damaged infrastructure, hospitals and schools in Gaza if a ceasefire is acheived there.
“If a ceasefire is reached, we will do whatever is necessary to compensate for the destruction caused by Israel,” Erdoğan told reporters on his plane returning from a trip to Berlin, where he held talks with German leaders.
“We will make efforts to rebuild the damaged infrastructure in Gaza and rebuild the destroyed schools, hospitals, water and energy facilities," he added.
After Israel’s ‘evacuation’ order, many civilians including patients in al-Shifa hospital were fleeing. While, World Health Organisation (WHO) said moving critical patients ‘not possible’ without intensive care ambulances.