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(RightWing.org) – The United Nations General Assembly established the organization’s Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees in 1949 to provide humanitarian assistance shortly after the establishment of the State of Israel. Sadly, the Sunni Islamist group Hamas has used innocents like them as shields during their ongoing war with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), resulting in gunfire in public locations like schools.
On July 14, the IDF issued a press release detailing its strike on a group of Hamas fighters operating in the proximity of a UNRWA school located in Nuseirat, a Palestinian refugee camp located in the middle of the Gaza Strip near the Mediterranean Sea. The notice explained that the Israeli Air Force struck several terrorists encamped near the Abu Oraiban School after officials with the IDF and Israel Security Agency confirmed their location.
The IDF said Hamas operatives were using the school “as a hideout.” They also set up critical “operational infrastructure there to direct and carry out “attacks against IDF troops operating in Gaza.”
The statement also advised that Israeli officials took “numerous steps” to offset the risk to civilians before launching the strike. Those preparations included using “precise munitions and additional intelligence.”
The IDF concluded its statement by noting that Hamas routinely violates international norms and laws by “exploiting civilian structures” and using locals “as human shields” to facilitate the group’s terrorist attacks on Israel.
Despite their best-laid plans, IDF strikes have had a devastating and lethal impact on Palestinian civilians. The UNRWA recently posted a statement detailing some of the destruction and loss of life.
The notice advised that Israeli strikes had hit more than half of their facilities operating in Gaza, some multiple times, and many took direct hits. As a result, roughly 520 people were killed, and almost 1,600 suffered injuries while “seeking some safety” as of July 7.
The statement acknowledged the Israeli claim that Palestinian armed groups were using UNRWA facilities and called for an investigation and immediate ceasefire. “The longer this war goes on, the deeper [the divide] will become, [and] the more suffering people will endure. Enough is enough,” the statement concluded.
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