WAFA / October 9, 2023
GAZA – A United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) school sheltering more than 225 people displaced families in the Gaza Strip was directly hit today in an Israeli air strike, causing severe damage but no casualties, said a UNRWA press release.
The number of people forced to flee their homes in search of safety since the start of the Israeli attacks on Gaza on Saturday has significantly increased overnight. Nearly 74,000 displaced people are now in 64 UNRWA shelters, with numbers likely to increase as heavy shelling and airstrikes continue including on civilian areas.
UNRWA teams are providing families with shelter and clean water. Supplies are being prepared to deliver to families, including food, hygiene kits and cleaning supplies, according to the press release.
The UN humanitarian agency stressed that civilians must be protected at all times, including during fighting, calling for an immediate ceasefire and a halt to the violence everywhere.
“Schools and other civilian infrastructure, including those sheltering displaced families, must never come under attack,” it stressed.
Almost 500 people, including 91 children and 61 women, were killed and 2,271 wounded, including 244 children and 151 women, in addition to the destruction of homes, residential buildings, property, and infrastructure since Saturday.
