At least 45 Palestinian refugees killed in Israeli attack at UN school
Güncelleme Tarihi:
An Israeli strike killed at least 45 people who had taken refuge inside a UN school in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, in the third such attack in a day, medics said. UN called for an investigation over the school attack. (UPDATED)
Two tank shells exploded outside the school, spraying shrapnel on people inside and outside the building, where hundreds of Palestinians had sought refuge from fighting between Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants, Reuters reported.
In addition to the dead, several dozen people were wounded, the officials said.
Medical officials said all the dead were either people sheltering in the school or local residents.
Reuters journalists filmed bodies scattered on the ground amid pools of blood and torn shoes and clothes. A donkey also lay on the ground in its own blood.
A top U.N. humanitarian official has condemned the violence and demanded an investigation.
Israel is not commenting. But it accuses Hamas of using schools, mosques and residential areas for cover.
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An Israeli soldier was killed on Tuesday and four others were wounded in clashes with Palestinian militants north of Gaza City, a military spokesman told AFP.
Seven Israeli soldiers have now been killed since the December 27 launch of Operation Cast Lead which aims to halt Hamas rocket attacks from Gaza. Eighty-three have been wounded.
PALESTINIAN TOLLÂ HITS 635Â
The 11-day Israeli offensive on Hamas in the Gaza Strip has killed at least 635 Palestinians,
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Another 2,900 people have been wounded, the Gaza emergency services chief said.
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Earlier in the day, two people were killed when an artillery shell slammed into a school in the southern town of
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The Israeli army claimed on Tuesday that it has killed 130 Hamas fighters since launching a ground offensive inMost of several dozen deaths reported by hospitals in recent days have been civilians, apparently because dead militants remain on the battlefield.