The US ambassador to the United Nations on Monday accused Israel’s military of striking schools, humanitarian workers and civilians in Gaza. Meanwhile, Israel has repeatedly said it targets Hamas militants, who hide with civilians and use them as human shields, in response to the October 7 attacks in southern Israel that killed about 1,200 people and launched the war in Gaza.
At a recent UN Security Council meeting, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield criticized the Israeli military, stating that many of the recent strikes that harmed UN personnel and humanitarian workers were “preventable.” This marked an unusually direct stance from the ambassador.
Several council members highlighted last week’s Israeli strike on a former school, repurposed as a civilian shelter by the UN agency UNRWA, which aids Palestinian refugees. The attack resulted in the deaths of at least 18 people, including women, children, and six UNRWA staff members.
Israel claimed it targeted a Hamas command-and-control center located within the compound. Israel’s UN ambassador, Danny Danon, stated that Hamas militants were killed in the strike, naming four individuals and alleging they worked for UNRWA during the day and for Hamas at night.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has demanded for an independent investigation.Thomas-Greenfield told council members that the US will keep raising the need for Israel to facilitate humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territory and protect humanitarian workers and facilities like the UNRWA shelter.
Ambassador Thomas-Greenfield reiterated the US “outrage” over the death of Turkish American activist Aysenur Eygi, who was shot and killed during a protest in the West Bank last week. The Israeli Defense Forces acknowledged that Eygi was likely killed by mistake, and the Israeli government has initiated a criminal investigation into the incident.
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield emphasized that “the IDF is a professional military and knows well how to ensure that incidents such as these do not happen.” She added that the US expects Israeli military leaders to implement “fundamental changes” to their operations, including revising their rules of engagement and procedures to ensure military actions do not interfere with humanitarian activities or target schools and civilian facilities.
16, including five women and four children, killed in Israeli strikes on Gaza
Palestinian officials report that Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip have killed 16 people, including five women and four children. An early Monday strike flattened a home in the densely populated Nuseirat refugee camp, resulting in 10 deaths, including four women and two children. The Awda Hospital, which confirmed the toll, stated that another 13 people were injured, with hospital records showing that a mother, her child, and her five siblings were among the dead. Additionally, a strike on a home in Gaza City killed six people, including a woman and two
children, according to the Civil Defense, which operates under the Hamas-run government.
Israel maintains that its strikes are aimed solely at militants, accusing Hamas and other armed groups of putting civilians at risk by operating within residential areas. The Israeli military generally refrains from commenting on specific strikes, even when women and children are among the casualties.
