December 22, 2024 06:19 AM

US 'Appalled': Shelling Of UN School Killed 10 People Including Children, Third Strike On A School In Weeks [PHOTOS]

The shelling Sunday already marks the third strike on a school in weeks on a school.

Apart from words of US 'appalled', the country also called that attack 'totally unacceptable and totally indefensible', reports The Guardian.

According to State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki, Israel is called on to perform 'more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties.'

Psaki added to the US 'appalled' statement, 'The United States is appalled by today's disgraceful shelling outside an UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency] school in Rafah sheltering some 3,000 displaced persons, in which at least 10 more Palestinian civilians were tragically killed.'

She also said that UN facilities should not be utilized as bases from which to launch such attacks.

Psaki said, 'The suspicion that militants are operating nearby does not justify strikes that put at risk the lives of so many innocent civilians.'

She added to the US 'appalled' statement, 'The coordinates of the school, like all U.N. facilities in Gaza, have been repeatedly communicated to the Israel Defense Forces. We once again stress that Israel must do more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties.'

Meanwhile, according to The Daily Star, the Israeli military has confirmed that it had fired on a target in the school's vicinity.

According to a Palestinian health official, all people wounded or killed involved those inside the school.

The Guardian reports that the US 'appalled' condemnation were followed with words of the same nature by UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon. Ki-moon said the shelling near the Rafah school was "a moral outrage and a criminal act".

Philip Hammond, Britain's Foreign Secretary also demanded an unconditional cease-fire to resolve once and for all the "intolerable" situation for civilians.

China's top diplomat Wang Yi also demanded both sides in the conflict to "immediately" halt their fire. The clash only began escalating Jul. 8.

Despite all these statements and the harshest from the US which was the US 'appalled' condemnation, there was little relief for residents. According to The Daily Star, more than 71 people have already been killed in Rafah alone.

Along with the speech on US 'appalled' by the incident, Psaki also said that the US would seek a 'full and prompt investigation' into the event. She reiterated both factions to adhere to 'international humanitarian law.'

US 'appalled' statement was made in light of the Sunday attacks which added to the rising death toll in Gaza as reported by officials. According to Palestinian officials, 1,775 have already been killed, and most of them consisted of civilians.

Tags
Gaza, Israel, Palestine
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