11:45 p.m. ET, December 29, 2023
According to the agency, more than 300 people seeking shelter in UN shelters have been killed since the war between Israel and Hamas began
By CNN's Tim Lister, Kareem Khadder and Hande Atay Alam: At least 308 people seeking refuge in United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) shelters have been killed and at least 1,095 injured since the Israel-Hamas war began on March 7 October, the agency said Friday on X, formerly known as Twitter. UNRWA also noted that “initial reports indicated that two people sought refuge there on December 25.” @UNRWA Maghazi Prep School was killed and one injured in a direct attack.”
CNN cannot independently verify these figures.
In a statement sent to CNN on Thursday, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said that “during operations in the Gaza Strip against Hamas terrorist targets, IAF fighter jets struck two targets near which Hamas operatives were located on December 24, 2023.”
The attacks targeted targets in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp. About 70 people were killed in the attacks, according to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health. The IDF has acknowledged that there was “unintentional harm” to civilians as a result of airstrikes in the central Gaza Strip on December 24.
“Before carrying out the attacks, the IDF took steps to limit damage to innocent civilians in the region. A preliminary investigation revealed that the attacks also hit other buildings near the targets, likely causing unintentional harm to additional uninvolved civilians,” the statement said.
The IDF said the attacks would be further investigated through the General Staff's investigation and assessment mechanism. It said the IDF regretted the harm caused to innocent civilians and was trying to draw conclusions and lessons from this incident.
More about the local situation: Nearly 1.4 million displaced people are housed in 156 UNRWA facilities, with another 500,000 registered and using UNRWA's services, the agency said in a statement on its official website on Wednesday.
The average number of internally displaced people in UNRWA shelters in the central and southern areas is over 12,000, UNRWA also said, adding: “This is more than four times their capacity.”
The IDF warned residents of many parts of the central Gaza Strip on Thursday that they must leave urgently while operations against Hamas continue. The IDF posted a message in Arabic on X, formerly Twitter, instructing people in 15 identified blocks south of Wadi Gaza to go to shelters. The areas also include the Al-Bureij refugee camp. The lack of communications and internet access in Gaza, which has been affected by Israeli airstrikes, makes it difficult to estimate how many residents would be aware of what the IDF described as “urgent orders.”