Yesterday the State Department accused Israel of ‘shelling’ a UN school in Rafah that was being used as a shelter, calling it ‘disgraceful’ and saying the US is ‘appalled’ by Israel’s actions:
The United States is appalled by today’s disgraceful shelling outside an UNRWA school in Rafah sheltering some 3,000 displaced persons, in which at least ten more Palestinian civilians were tragically killed. The coordinates of the school, like all UN facilities in Gaza, have been repeatedly communicated to the Israeli Defense Forces. We once again stress that Israel must do more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties. UN facilities, especially those sheltering civilians, must be protected, and must not be used as bases from which to launch attacks. The suspicion that militants are operating nearby does not justify strikes that put at risk the lives of so many innocent civilians. We call for a full and prompt investigation of this incident as well as the recent shelling of other UNRWA schools.
We continue to underscore that all parties must take all feasible precautions to prevent civilian casualties and protect the civilian population and comply with international humanitarian law.
Israeli Ambassador Ron Dermer responded to the above statement today, saying that the State Department is rushing to judgement to condemn Israel while Israel is still investigating the matter and not all the facts are known.
Dermer says that Israel performed a targeted strike on 3 Islamic Jihad terrorist who were on a motorcycle, but unlike the accusation by the State Department, Dermer says Israel did NOT shell the UN school nor did it hit the school. Dermer adds that he’s not sure that the civilian casualties are even Israel’s fault. But they are investigating it to find out what happened.
Watch: