UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday condemned the death of at least 18 people, including six UN workers, in Israeli airstrikes that hit a school in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday.
"The Secretary-General condemns the death of at least 18 people, including children, women, and six UNRWA staff, in Israeli airstrikes that hit a school serving as a shelter in Nuseirat on Sept. 11," Stephane Dujarric, spokesman for the UN chief, said in a statement.
Wednesday's incident raised the number of staff members of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) killed in the conflict to 220, according to the statement.
"The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) stated that they had targeted a command-and-control center in the compound. This incident must be independently and thoroughly investigated to ensure accountability," the statement said.
The continued lack of effective protection for civilians in Gaza is unconscionable, the statement noted, adding that "civilians and the infrastructure they rely on must be protected and the essential needs of civilians met."
Reiterating the call for an immediate ceasefire and the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, the UN chief called upon all parties "to refrain from using schools, shelters, or the areas around them for military purposes," and urged all parties to the conflict to comply with international humanitarian law at all times, the statement said.
At least 18 Palestinians were killed and many others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a UN-run school sheltering displaced people in the central Gaza Strip on Wednesday, according to Palestinian sources. ■
