At least 15 people have been reported killed and 150 injured in the bombardment of a UN school in northern Gaza used to shelter civilians from fierce clashes on the streets outside. Al Jazeera's correspondent Nicole Johnston, reporting from Gaza, said the school in Beit Hanoun came under fire on Thursday. The Gaza health ministry told Reuters that Israeli fire had killed at least 15, and 150 injured.
An Israeli military source however told Al Jazeera that Palestinian rocket fire had been detected in the area and that it might have fallen short and hit the shelter.
Al Jazeera's correspondent Stefanie Dekker said that she was unable to reach the school after the attack due to heavy Israeli shelling. No one she had spoken to in Gaza believed the deaths were caused by a Palestinian rocket.
In an interview with Al Jazeera, Chris Gunness, the spokesman for UNRWA, the UN's humanitarian organisation in Gaza, said his organisation had been in contact with Israeli forces as fighting closed in on the shelter.
"We gave the Israelis the precise GPS coordinates of the Beit Hanoun shelter. We were trying to coordinate a window [for evacuation] and that was never granted," he said. He said he could neither confirm nor deny that Hamas fighters were near the building, but said Israel and Hamas "must respect the inviolability of UN premises, and humanitarian law".
He called the attack "tragic and appalling".
Robert Turner, the director for UNRWA told Al Jazeera there was no warning from the Israelis before the shells landed.
"This is a designated emergency shelter. The location was conveyed to the Israelis," he said. "This was an installation we were managing, that was monitored [to ensure] that our neutrality was maintained."
"We always call on all parties to ensure that civilians are not harmed."
Israel has attacked UN schools before, saying that they were being used as safe havens for the armed Palestinians.
The UN has also previously criticised the Palestinian groups for using UN schools to hide fighters and weapons.
'No fighters at school'
A witness who arrived at the Kamal Adwan hospital after the bombardment told Al Jazeera: "We were sitting in the school, because we were told it is safe.
"By God, there was not a single fighter, not a single shot was fired from the school. Why did they shoot at the school? Why? Can someone explain that to me? Why would they shell the school?"
Thursday's strike is the fourth time a UN facility has been hit in the 17 days of Israeli bombardment of Gaza.
At least 788 Palestinians have been killed and more than 4,500 injured in Israeli assault.
Two Israeli civilians have been killed by fire from Gaza since the offensive began.
The total number of Israeli soldiers killed since the start of the military assault stands at 32. One more soldier has been listed as missing and is believed to be dead.
The usual propaganda states that one side MUST be good, and therefore, the "other side" MUST be entirely evil.
Those of you who have read Jacques Ellul's "Propaganda" know that stereotypes and demonizing and dehumanizing are one of the ways to persuade others to "think" correctly.
Ask yourself- WHY are so many Palestinians dying and suffering? Only a few years back, during the last Intifada, a busload of Israeli children, teenagers at a disco, at a pizza parlor were also dying. ALL IN THE NAME OF IDEOLOGY, which means that the POLITICIANS do not want to compromise for PEACE!
My question: WHY DOES HAMAS WANT WAR, KNOWING THAT HUNDREDS OF CIVILIANS WILL DIE AS A RESULT? If you claim it is because they are "occupied", then keep in mind that Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005. The money that Hamas spent on rockets and tunnels COULD HAVE BEEN SPENT ON HELPING POOR PALESTINIANS!
As one commenter put it: "This is more really of the same old same old. Hamas first missiles into Israel for months on end to provoke an attack so that HAMAS can use images of Israeli atrocities as a PR stunt, dutifully pushed forward by many, often well meaning stooges on the Western media. It's an old trick, it works every time and the anti-Jewish press (they call themselves anti-Zionist, meaning Jews have no right to a homeland, only Muslims do)."
The only way to end this is for BOTH SIDES to make and keep a cease fire.
Peace talks can begin when Hamas accepts the fact that Israel exists, and the Israelis accept the fact that the Palestinians exist!
Pray for peace!