UN: 12 killed at Gaza shelter as fighting rages
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Gaza health officials said at least 50 Palestinians had been killed in Khan Younis in the past 24 hours
The death toll from tank fire on a United Nations shelter in Gaza's main southern city of Khan Yunis has risen to 12, a top UN aid official said on Thursday.
"Twelve people have now been confirmed dead with over 75 injuries, 15 of whom are in a critical condition," Thomas White, Gaza director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), said in a statement.
On Thursday, Gaza health officials said at least 50 Palestinians had been killed in Khan Younis in the past 24 hours, including two children in an Israeli air strike that hit a residential home.
Since October 7, Israel vowed to crush Hamas and launched a relentless military offensive that the Palestinian territory's health ministry says has killed at least 25,700 people, about 70% of them women and children.
On Wednesday, two tank shells struck the UN shelter in Khan Yunis where thousands of displaced Palestinians have taken refuge, he said.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said the bombardment was a "blatant disregard of basic rules of war."
The compound had been clearly marked as a UN facility and its coordinates shared with Israeli authorities, he said on X.
Asked about the tank fire, the Israeli army said "a thorough review of the operations of the forces in the vicinity is underway", adding it was examining the possibility that the strike was a "result of Hamas fire."
The Israeli army is the only force known to have tanks operating in the Gaza Strip.
The United States also condemned the bombardment, with State Department spokesman Vedant Patel saying "civilians must be protected and the protected nature of UN facilities must be respected."
Source: AFP