A United Nations-run school sheltering civilians in Beit Hanoun in the northern Gaza strip came under Israeli attack on Thursday. Along with 15 people dead, 200 others have been wounded in the raid.
Slamming Israel’s “war crimes” in Gaza, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marziyeh Afkham on Thursday condemned the shelling of the school, and stressed that the United Nations should be held accountable for such continued crimes by Israel.
“The responsibility for the repetition of war crimes against the oppressed and defenseless people of the Gaza Strip, including for (the attack on) the school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), lies directly with that organization (the UN) and its subsidiary organs,” said Afkham.
What has now become crystal clear is that due to their “savage nature and frustration, the Zionists do not refrain from committing any crime against defenseless people of Gaza,” she added.
After Israel’s shelling of the school, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed his horror at the incident, and said, "Many have been killed, including women and children, as well as UN staff.”
"Circumstances are still unclear. I strongly condemn this act," he said in a statement.
More than 140,000 Palestinians have fled 18 days of Israeli aerial and ground strikes on the Gaza residents, many of them seeking shelter in buildings run by the UN.
As the 18-day Israeli offensive on the blockaded strip rages on, above 800 Palestinians have been killed, and over 5,200 other injured in the densely populated enclave.