Key Points
- At least nine people were killed and 75 wounded by an Israeli attack on a UNRWA compound, the UN says.
- A senior US official condemned the attack but didn't accept the UN claim that Israel was responsible.
- The Israeli military said an examination of its operational systems ruled out that its forces had struck the centre.
Israeli tanks have struck a huge UN compound in Gaza sheltering displaced Palestinians, causing "mass casualties", the United Nations says, but Israel denies its forces were responsible and suggests Hamas might have launched the shelling.
Wednesday's attack, which the UN said hit a vocational training centre housing , prompted rare outright condemnation from the United States.
"Mass casualties have taken place, some buildings are ablaze and there are reports of deaths. Many people are trying to flee the scene, but unable to do so," UN humanitarian co-ordinator for the Palestinian territory James McGoldrick said.
Thomas White, director of Gaza affairs for the UN agency UNRWA, said two tank rounds hit one of the centre's buildings where some 800 displaced people were sheltering.
At least nine people were killed and 75 wounded. The agency's head Philippe Lazzarini said the death toll was probably higher.
"The compound is a clearly marked UN facility and its co-ordinates were shared with Israeli Authorities as we do for all our facilities. Once again a blatant disregard of basic rules of war," Lazzarini said.
US condemns attack on UN facility, Israel denies involvement
In Washington, US State Department spokesman Vedant Patel said: "We deplore today's attack on the UN's Khan Younis training centre."
"Civilians must be protected, and the protected nature of UN facilities must be respected, and humanitarian workers must be protected so that they can continue providing civilians with the life-saving humanitarian assistance that they need," Patel said.
Israel's military initially released a statement describing the wider Khan Younis area as a base of Hamas fighters and acknowledged that fighting was taking place near large numbers of civilians.
In a second statement sent following Washington's criticism, the military said an examination of its operational systems ruled out that its forces had struck the centre.
It said a thorough review was still underway to examine the possibility that the strike was a result of Hamas fire.
Since Israel's ground offensive began in late October, , but has rarely been openly critical of a specific Israeli action.
The IDF's ongoing offensive on Khan Younis
Israeli forces have launched their biggest ground offensive in at least a month, encircling Khan Younis where hundreds of thousands of people who fled fighting elsewhere in Gaza are staying.
Residents said that Israeli announcements warning them to leave the area came only after the operation was under way and the main road out already shut.
The bulk of the 2.3 million-strong population of Gaza is now penned into Khan Younis and the towns just north and south of it.
Palestinian officials say the Israelis have cut off and besieged the city's main hospitals, making it impossible for rescuers to reach many of the wounded and the dead.
Israel said that Hamas has "command and control centres, Hamas outposts and Hamas security headquarters" in the area.
"Dismantling Hamas' military framework in western Khan Younis is the heart of the logic behind the operation," the Israeli military said.
"It is a dense area and an area that consists of civilians, it is a place that requires very specific methods of action and precise operations.
"There is an area with shelters, there are several hospitals, several sensitive sites. We have seen terrorists use these sites."
Death toll in Gaza hits 25,700, Palestinian officials say
Palestinian health officials said at least 25,700 people had been killed in Gaza in the war, including 210 in the previous 24 hours.
Israel launched its assault to wipe out Hamas after fighters stormed Israeli towns on October 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing more than 240 hostages.
The Palestinian Red Crescent Society, which runs the Al-Amal hospital in Khan Younis, said troops had blockaded its staff inside and imposed a curfew in the area, including its local headquarters, where three displaced individuals had been killed.
Palestinians carry the body of a person killed in an attack on a UNRWA building on Wednesday. The UN says Israel was responsible for the attack. Israel has denied responsibility. Source: AP / Ramez Habboub
The war between Hamas and Israel is the latest escalation in a long-standing conflict.
Hamas is a Palestinian political and military group, which has governed the Gaza Strip since the most recent elections in 2006.
Its stated aim is to establish a Palestinian state and stop the Israeli occupation of Gaza and the West Bank, illegal under international law.
Hamas in its entirety is listed as a terrorist organisation by the European Union and seven other countries, including Australia.
In 2021 the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into alleged Israeli war crimes in the Palestinian territories dating back to 2014, including the recent attacks of both Israel and Hamas.
