UNRWA says its Gaza facilities were damaged 128 times since Oct. 7

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: Agencies
3 Jan 2024 05:57

UNRWA says 212 incidents impacting its premises and the people inside them have been reported since October 7.

Palestinian men carrying bread walk past damaged cars and debris in front of a school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) following Israeli airstrikes in Gaza City on October 9, 2023. (AFP)

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) confirmed on Tuesday that its facilities in the Gaza Strip had been hit 128 times since October 7, which resulted in the death of 315 refugees hiding in UNRWA shelters.

"212 incidents impacting UNRWA premises and the people inside them have been reported since 7 October (some with multiple incidents impacting the same location), including at least 21 incidents of military use and/or interference at UNRWA premises," the organization said.

It pointed out that "this includes 60 direct hits on UNRWA installations and 68 different UNRWA installations sustaining collateral damage. In total at least 315 IDPs [Internally Displaced Persons] sheltering in UNRWA shelters have been killed and at least another 1,148 were injured since 7 October."

In December, the organization said that the death toll among its staff in the Gaza Strip had risen to 142.

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees confirmed Friday an aid convoy came under fire from Israeli occupation forces in the Gaza Strip, without causing any casualties.

"Israeli soldiers fired at an aid convoy as it returned from northern Gaza along a route designated by the Israeli army -- our international convoy leader and his team were not injured but one vehicle sustained damage," UNRWA's director in Gaza, Tom White, wrote on X.

According to UNRWA, the incident took place on Thursday afternoon.

UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma said in a post on X on Monday that "1.4 million people in Gaza sheltering in UNRWA facilities and many more in the vicinity, sleeping outside."

Touma said on December 30, as quoted by BBC, that over 1.4 million people forcibly displaced by the Israeli aggression are currently residing in UNRWA facilities, primarily repurposed schools.

As the Israeli aggression persists, many have sought shelter anywhere available, including streets and overcrowded apartments housing up to 70 people, and those with financial means are renting rooms, she added.

Tragically, a significant number are forced to live in open spaces, parks, and even in their cars, as the quest for safety remains elusive due to the absence of secure zones in Gaza, as per Touma.

"Nowhere is safe in Gaza, not the north, not the middle, and not the south," she indicated.