The fighting killed at least 520 people sheltering in U.N. agency shelters and wounded at least 1,602, according to UNRWA. Nine months of war in Gaza: another UN school hit by airstrike Peace and Security
The day before, the war in Gaza crossed the nine-month mark. Meanwhile, aid workers are assessing the damage from another airstrike on a school by the UN Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
“Another day. Another month. Another school has been damaged,” UNRWA head Philippe Lazzarini wrote in a Platform X post after Israeli forces attacked a school in Nuseirat in central Gaza on Saturday. It was sheltering nearly 2,000 people previously forced to flee their homes as a result of the fighting, the UNRWA commissioner-general said, adding that dozens of casualties were reported.
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Gaza’s health authorities say tens of thousands of Palestinians have been killed so far. According to UNRWA, the fighting has killed at least 520 people sheltering in U.N. agency shelters and wounded at least 1,602.
Escalation on the Blue Line
Meanwhile, according to available information, negotiations on a ceasefire and release should resume in the coming days hostages.
It comes amid daily skirmishes between Israel and key Hamas ally Hezbollah across the UN-monitored Blue Line separating Lebanon and Israel. On Sunday, Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a drone strike on Mount Hermon in the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights.
“The gradual expansion of the confrontation far beyond the Blue Line significantly increases the risk of miscalculation and further deterioration of an already alarming situation,” the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) said.
Referring to the latest figures from OCHA, the UN mission said that as of June 25, nearly 97,000 people had been forced to flee southern Lebanon due to the fighting. More than 1,800 casualties were reported, including 435 deaths, of whom 97 were civilians.
Investigation ongoing
Commenting on the strike on the UNRWA school and allegations that the facility was used by armed groups, Lazzarini said he takes such allegations seriously and reiterated his call for an independent investigation “to establish the facts and identify those responsible for attacks on or misuse of UN premises.”
The UN Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) is continuing to probe Israeli allegations that 12 UNRWA staff were involved in the Hamas-led attacks on October 7. Eight of them remain under investigation. The OIOS suspended three cases, citing insufficient information from Israeli authorities, and closed one because Israel failed to provide any evidence.
“Nine months into this brutal war, I once again call for a ceasefire so that the people of Gaza and Israel can finally have respite and protection, and all hostages can be released immediately,” Lazzarini said.