On September 12 local time, the Israeli military named nine people who Israel said were Hamas members who died in an airstrike in Gaza on September 11 that killed six staff members of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
The Israeli military said three of the nine Hamas members worked as UNRWA employees.
UNRWA said six of its staff were killed in two airstrikes on a school in central Gaza on September 11. This is the organization's highest death toll in a single attack.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the attack on September 12. The attack in Gaza left at least 18 people dead, including UNRWA staff, women and children, his spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The latest toll brings the total number of UNRWA staff killed in the Gaza conflict to 220.
"This incident must be investigated independently and thoroughly to ensure accountability. The continued lack of effective protection for civilians in Gaza is unconscionable," said spokesman Stephane Dujarric.
The school complex in central Gaza is being used as a shelter for people displaced by fighting, UNRWA said, while the Israeli military alleged the same school complex is also being used by Hamas members.
Secretary-General Guterres called on all parties not to use schools, shelters or surrounding areas for military purposes, Mr. Dujarric said.
UNRWA Communications Director Juliette Touma said the Israeli government has not yet asked the agency to provide a list of staff killed in the school attack. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it had sent such a request.
"The names appearing in today's statement by the Israeli military have never been previously communicated to us by the Israeli authorities," Touma said.
The Israeli military says it is taking steps to minimize the risk of harm to non-combatants in Gaza while fighting militants using Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas denies the accusation.
The war in Gaza broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli figures. Israel's retaliatory attack on Gaza has claimed the lives of more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health.
