(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) The US on Sunday used unusually strong terms in its condemnation of the shelling of a UN-run school in Gaza, terming it "disgraceful" and calling on Israel to show restraint.
At least 10 people were killed when the school in Rafah, sheltering some 3,000 displaced Gazans, was hit by Israeli fire.
"The coordinates of the school, like all UN facilities in Gaza, have been repeatedly communicated to the Israeli Defense Forces," said State Department Spokesperson Jen Psaki in a statement. "We once again stress that Israel must do more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties.
"UN facilities, especially those sheltering civilians, must be protected, and must not be used as bases from which to launch attacks," she added. "The suspicion that militants are operating nearby does not justify strikes that put at risk the lives of so many innocent civilians." Psaki also urged a "full and prompt investigation" of the attack, "as well as the recent shelling of other UNRWA schools.
"We continue to underscore that all parties must take all feasible precautions to prevent civilian casualties and protect the civilian population and comply with international humanitarian law," she concluded.
The US statement follows UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who earlier in the day called the attack "a moral outrage and a criminal act." This is the second school run by the United Nations Relief Works Agency (UNRWA) to be targeted by Israel. On July 24, at least 15 people died when a school in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza was hit.
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