6 UN staffers killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza school
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has confirmed the death of six of its staff members following two Israeli airstrikes on a school in Gaza. This incident marks the highest death toll for UN staff since the start of the war. The victims included "the manager of the UNRWA shelter and other team members providing assistance to displaced people," according to a statement by the agency.
Israel's justification and UNRWA's response
Israel justified the airstrikes, stating that its air force had "conducted a precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a Hamas command-and-control center," located on the school grounds. However, the UNRWA contradicted this claim in a post, stating that the school is home to around 12,000 displaced people. "This school has been hit five times since the war began. It is home to around 12,000 displaced people, mainly women and children," said the UNRWA.
UN chief condemns lack of accountability for staff killings
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has condemned the lack of accountability for UN staff killings in Gaza, calling it "totally unacceptable." In an interview with Reuters, he described the past year as "very tough, very difficult" and labeled the current state of the world as "chaotic." He highlighted conflicts like those in Gaza and Russia's war in Ukraine as being "stuck with no peaceful solutions in sight."
Guterres calls for investigation into UN staff deaths
Guterres also called for an effective investigation and accountability for the deaths of nearly 300 humanitarian air workers, most of them UN staff, who have been killed during the conflict. "We have courts, but we see that the decisions of courts are not respected, and it is this kind of limbo of accountability that is totally unacceptable and that requires also a serious a serious reflection," he stated.
