A United Nations official says 30 people have been killed in
an Israeli attack at a U.N.-run school in Gaza.
U.N. official John Ging (with the Relief and Works Agency) says the
building was clearly marked with a U.N. flag. Ging said the world body is
asking Israel for an explanation and is demanding full accountability in
accordance with international law.
It was the second of three Israeli attacks at U.N. schools in the territory
Tuesday, the 11th day of Israel's offensive against Hamas militants.
Palestinian medics say two people died in the first attack, while there were no
reports of injuries in the third. They put the number killed in the deadliest
attack at more than 40.
Palestinians say civilians were seeking shelter in the buildings from Israeli
bombardment.
Israel has accused Hamas militants of using schools, mosques and other civilian
places to hide. And in the case of the school with the most casualties, Israeli
officials said their forces were responding to fire from that building.
The massive air and ground assault has claimed more than 600 lives, and the
United Nations estimates that one quarter of the victims were civilians. Many
children are among the dead. Another 25-hundred people have been wounded.
An official with the Geneva-based International Red Cross (operations
director Pierre Kraehenbuehl) says the situation in Gaza has become a
"full-blown" humanitarian crisis.