At least nine people were killed in tank fire at a UN refugee home in Khan Younes in the southern Gaza Strip on Wednesday. A UN official called this a “flagrant violation” of the rules of war.
• Also read: Gaza: Israel's rejection of two-state solution is 'unacceptable', says UN chief
• Also read: Transformed into “puppets”: Ex-hostages testify before a commission on sexual violence
“Two tanks hit a building housing 800 people,” said Thomas White, director of the United Nations for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza, reporting an initial toll of “nine dead and 75 injured.” » on X (formerly Twitter). ).
The Israeli army said it had “surrounded” Khan Younes and intensified operations there against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. She did not immediately respond to requests from AFP on Wednesday evening.
UNRWA and the World Health Organization (WHO) attempted to contact the center on Wednesday, added Thomas White, who had previously reported “burning buildings and mass casualties.” Images broadcast in Arabic by Al Jazeera showed thick smoke and flames rising from the building.
For his part, Philippe Lazzarini, chairman of UNRWA, criticized “another blatant violation of the basic rules of war.”
The training center, which has become a safe house, is “clearly marked as a UN structure and its coordinates have been communicated to the Israeli authorities,” he denounced, and is “probably higher.”
UN officials gave different figures on the structure's total capacity, estimated by Philippe Lazzarini at 30,000 people.
The latter announced on Tuesday that the same building had been “hit during military operations,” with six deaths already reported. The Israel Defense Forces told AFP they had not been informed.
As Israeli forces continue their operations, more than a million people are crowding into Rafah, south of Khan Yunis, near the border with Egypt.
The war was sparked by Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israeli soil on October 7, which killed about 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data.
According to the Hamas Health Ministry, Israel vowed to “destroy” Hamas, which has been in power in Gaza since 2007, and launched a massive military operation that killed 25,700 Palestinians, the vast majority women, children and teenagers.