Another school bombed in Rafah

(Baonghean)-On August 3, at least 10 Palestinians were killed in a bombing at a United Nations school and refugee camp in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, according to local rescue groups.

At least 10 Palestinians were killed in the bombing on August 3. Photo: AFP/ Said Khatib

"According to initial information, many people were killed and injured when the school of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Rafah was bombed," the agency's spokesman said.

On Sunday evening, the Israelis admitted to opening fire in the "nearby" area in a statement: "The Israeli army targeted three escaped Islamic Jihad terrorists on a motorcycle near the UNRWA school. The Israel Defense Forces are examining the results of the attack."

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was "shocked" by what he called "a new flagrant violation of international human rights" in a statement: "This is a scandal from a moral point of view and a crime. This madness must stop."

Without actually assigning responsibility for the Rafah attack, Mr Ban only stressed that the Israeli military had been “repeatedly informed of the coordinates” of UN refugee camps – three of which had been bombed in recent deadly attacks. These refugee camps should be “safe zones, not places of conflict”, Mr Ban stressed.

Earlier, about 30 Palestinians were killed when UN schools in Beit Hanoun and North Jabaliya were bombed, sparking a strong international outcry and condemnation from the United Nations. UNRWA has been outspoken in blaming Israel for the tragedy in Jabaliya. (Le Monde, August 4)

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