Israel Commits School Massacre While World Watches

“We are appalled at yet another deadly massacre at a school in central Gaza where desperate families have been ordered to shelter,” stated the Islamic Relief organization, Sunday.

Reports indicate that at least 30 people are killed and over 100 injured at the school in Deir al Balah, with infant children among the dead and hospitals swamped with casualties. Such atrocities against civilians have become almost daily occurrences in Gaza, the organization stated.

Israel’s policy of constantly forcing civilians to move from one place to another, and then attacking the schools and camps where they are told to go, is inhumane and causing unprecedented death and trauma, Islamic relief added.

It is making the humanitarian crisis even more catastrophic by the day. Hundreds of thousands of people have been forced to move time and again over the past few weeks, with many families now displaced 9 or 10 times since the crisis escalated,” Islamic Relief pointed out.

Around 83% of Gaza is now subject to Israeli so-called ‘evacuation orders’ or no-go military zones, with over 2 million people forced into ever smaller areas where they cannot access food, clean water or sanitation, and where they face the constant threat of further attack.

International governments must demand an immediate ceasefire and an end to the constant forced displacement and attacks on fleeing civilians, and ensure accountability for such actions, it ended its statement.

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UNRWA: 9 Out of 10 in Gaza Displaced

In its latest statistics UNRWA states that 9 in every 10 Palestinians in the #GazaStrip have been forcibly displaced.

UNRWA points out that these people are seeking shelter where ever they can in: overcrowded schools, destroyed buildings, makshift tents on the send and/or amid piles of trash.

The UN organization points out non of these places are safe and they have been targeted countless times.

Nearly 39,200 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza since Israel started its war on Gaza soon after 7 October 2023. Those killed are mostly women and children whilst over 90,400 have been injured injured, according to local health authorities.

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The US Set to Clash With Israel Over UNRWA

In what appears to be a direct clash with the Israeli Knesset, the US government does not regard UNRWA as a “terrorism organization.”

US State Department spokesman Mathew Miller said, Wednesday “UNRWA is not a terrorist organization, and we urge the Israeli government and the Knesset to halt the movement of this legislation.”

Miller was responding to the fact that the Israeli parliament, last Monday, introduced a draft bill, in its first reading, designating UNRWA as a terrorism organization and that Israel is set to cut relations with this UN body.

“We have been clear about the important role that UNRWA plays in delivering humanitarian assistance and other critical assistance to Palestinians in Gaza – and throughout the region, not just in Gaza…the United States provides the majority of its funding for – a majority of the funding for humanitarian efforts in Gaza through the UN. We expect to continue to do so…” he added.

“…the attacks that the Israeli Government has leveled on UNRWA are incredibly unhelpful. They do nothing to advance the cause of getting humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza. So we’re going to continue to support the work that UNRWA does in the region, while also recognizing the need for reform…” he maintained.

The UN organization employs 30,000 employs working to serve 5.9 Palestinians in the region. Israel is accusing the organization of employing more than 400 terrorists in the Gaza Strip.

As a result the USA suspended its financial contribution to the agency after the Israeli accusations which were not proven by Israel.

Since then, US law has prohibited Washington from releasing funds to the agency, while several countries have resumed their contributions to the agency, including the UK, Germany, EU, Sweden, Japan, and France.

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Israeli Army Shoots At UN Convoy – UNRWA Chief

The UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini posted on his official X account of heavy shooting from the Israeli Forces at a UN convoy heading to Gaza City.

“While there are no casualties, our teams had to duck and take cover.

This took place yesterday and the teams were traveling in clearly marked UN armoured cars and wearing UN vests,” Lazzarini stated.

“One vehicle received at least five bullets while waiting just ahead of the Israeli Forces’ checkpoint south of Wadi Gaza.

The car was severely damaged, it left the convoy. The teams re-assembled and finally reached Gaza City.”

Like all other similar UN movements, this movement was coordinated and approved by the Israeli Authorities.

Humanitarian aid workers are #NOTaTarget Those responsible must be held accountable, his post added.

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Jordan Condemns Knesset Bill on UNRWA Designation

Jordan Monday, condemned the decision of the Israeli Knesset to classify the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) as a terrorist organisation according to the Petra news agency.

The decision is an “attempt to kill the agency, assassinate it politically and target its symbolism, which affirms the right of Palestinian refugees to return and compensation under the international law,” a Foreign Ministry statement empahsized.

Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Sufyan Qudah, said: “The ongoing Israeli allegations and measures targeting UNRWA and aiming to kill it and cancel its pivotal and basic role in providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people under its UN mandate represent a blatant violation of international law and Israel’s obligations as the occupying power.”

Qudah noted the UN Agency’s role in providing “vital” services to Palestinian refugees in its five areas of operations, especially in Gaza, which is suffering an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe as a result of the ongoing Israeli war since 7 October.

He urged the international community to continue providing political and financial support to UNRWA, adding that the Agency “cannot be dispensed with or replaced” until the Palestinian issue is resolved based on the two-state solution by establishing an independent and sovereign Palestinian state along the lines of June 4, 1967.

Meanwhile Secretary-General of the PLO’s Executive Committee Hussein Al-Sheikh termed the Knesset’s decision as a “disregard for the international community and its international organizations.”

“We affirm that the Israeli occupation is the ugliest form of terrorism practiced daily against the Palestinian people,” he said in a statement as reported in Anadolu.

The Knesset passed three bills to shut down the UNRWA and deem it as a “terrorist” organization. The bills will require two more readings to become effective.

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