The UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said on Friday that over 560 displaced people were martyred in the Gaza Strip while seeking safety under the UN flag.
“Many of our schools have been dismantled and are no longer fit for their intended purpose. Eight UNRWA classrooms that function as shelters for displaced people have been hit in the last two weeks alone.
“Our offices and headquarters in Gaza have been completely destroyed. According to Antonia Marie De Meo, deputy commissioner-general of UNRWA, “more than 560 displaced people, including many women and children, have been martyred while sheltering under the UN flag,” during a UN Security Council meeting.
De Meo claimed that people who work in humanitarian aid, women, children, and journalists all continue to suffer a “tragically high price.”
UNRWA is not an anomaly. Reiterating that “no place is safe in Gaza,” she stated, “199 colleagues have now been killed, the vast majority with their families.”
Disregarding a UN Security Council resolution that calls for an immediate cease-fire, Israel has been under international criticism for its ongoing, ruthless assault on Gaza following a Hamas strike on October 7.
Since then, over 39,200 Palestinians—mostly women and children—have martyred, and over 90,400 have been injured, according to local health authorities.
Large swathes of Gaza are in ruins more than nine months after Israel began its bombardment, with food, clean water, and medication severely restricted.
The International Court of Justice has accused Israel of genocide and directed Tel Aviv to immediately cease its military operation in Rafah, a city in southern Israel where more than a million Palestinians had sought safety from the conflict before it was attacked on May 6.