12 Palestinians killed in Israeli attack on UN school in Gaza

GAZA, Nov. 20 (Xinhua) -- At least 12 Palestinians were killed and dozens injured in an Israeli attack on a school belonging to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in the Al-Bureij camp in central Gaza, the Hamas-run health ministry said Monday.

"The Israeli artillery attacked the school which houses thousands of displaced people and killed about 12 Palestinians, including women and children," the ministry said in a press statement.

Even though all UNRWA's facilities raise the flags of the UN, which keeps the coordination and communication with Israel, the Israeli army continues its attacks against the UNRWA's schools in various places in Gaza, according to Adnan Abu Hasna, UNRWA's media adviser.

"Since the beginning of the current Hamas-Israel conflict, more than 70 UNRWA-affiliated institutions and schools have been targeted in Israeli attacks. At the same time, 104 of the agency's staff members have been killed, marking the highest toll in its history," Abu Hasna told Xinhua.

He added that the number of displaced people in UNRWA shelters reached 900,000 out of a total of 1.7 million displaced people in Gaza, with hundreds of thousands left without shelter on the streets.