Strike hits UN shelter in Gaza, multiple dead

by The Right Scoop

A U.N. shelter (school) was hit today in Beit Hanoun where at least 15 were killed and 70 wounded. Because it was a UN shelter I think it has the potential to increase international pressure on Israel even though it doesn’t look like it was their fault.

Israel is investigating the attack but doesn’t rule out that it could have been a Hamas rocket that was responsible:

CNN – A strike on a U.N. shelter in northern Gaza on Thursday has killed and injured multiple people, a United Nations spokesman said Thursday.

The coordinates of the school in Beit Hanoun, which was serving a shelter for families in Gaza, had been given to the Israeli military, said the spokesman, Chris Gunness.

“Many have been killed — including women and children, as well as U.N. staff,” according to a statement issued by Ban Ki-moon, the U.N. secretary-general. Footage shows pools of blood at the scene. Ban, who was traveling in Iraq on Thursday, said he was “appalled” by the violence.

It’s unclear who was behind the strike. The Israeli military said it was “reviewing” the incident and told CNN that a rocket fired from Gaza could have been responsible. Sometimes, rockets from Gaza fall and explode, and that could have been the case here, the military said.

In a statement, the Israel Defense Forces said it is “in the midst of combat, with Hamas terrorists in the area of Beit Hanoun, who are using civilian infrastructure and international symbols as human shields. In the course of the afternoon, several rockets launched by Hamas from within the Gaza Strip landed in the Beit Hanoun area.”

Here is what the IDFSpokesperson on Twitter has had to say thus far:

As I’ve always said and still maintain, any death in Gaza, whether civilian or military, is absolutely the fault of Hamas because we wouldn’t be in this war if it weren’t for them constantly attacking Israel. Israel doesn’t target civilians so even if Israel mistakenly hit this shelter, it still can’t be blamed on them.

Israel is simply trying to defend itself and should absolutely do so. But I fear international pressure is going to start derailing their mission in light of this shelter being hit. I hope I’m wrong.


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