A UN training center was targeted by two Israeli tanks on Wednesday January 24. Nine people died and 75 were injured, according to an initial report.
Two tanks opened fire on a UN training center that had become a refuge for displaced people in Khan Younes, in the south of the Gaza Strip, leaving “nine dead and 75 injured”, a UN official said on X (ex -Twitter).
“Two tanks hit a building which houses 800 people,” said Thomas White, director in Gaza of the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).
Update – attack on Khan Younis Training Center this afternoon – two tank rounds hit building that shelters 800 people – reports now 9 dead and 75 injured@UNRWA and @WHO team trying to reach the center – agreed upon route with Israeli Army blocked with earth bank #Gaza
— Thomas White (@TomWhiteGaza) January 24, 2024
The Israeli army said on Tuesday that it had “surrounded” Khan Younes where it intensified its operations against the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas. UNRWA and the World Health Organization (WHO) were trying to contact the center on Wednesday, added Thomas White, who had earlier reported “buildings on fire and mass casualties”.
10,000 people sheltered in this complex
Images broadcast by Al Jazeera in Arabic showed thick smoke and flames emerging from the building. The entire complex houses 10,000 people, according to James McGoldrick, acting United Nations humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian Territories, deploring “yet another incident in which a building used for humanitarian purposes is damaged or struck.”
On Tuesday, Philippe Lazzarini, head of Unrwa, announced that the same building had “been hit during military operations” the day before, with already a toll of six dead. Israeli forces told AFP that they were not aware of this.
As Israeli forces continue their operations, more than a million people are crowded into Rafah, south of Khan Yunis, near the border with Egypt. The war was sparked by Hamas’ unprecedented attack on Israeli soil on October 7, which resulted in the deaths of around 1,140 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP count based on official Israeli data. .
Israel vowed to “annihilate” Hamas, in power in Gaza since 2007, and launched a vast military operation which killed 25,700 Palestinians, the vast majority women, children and adolescents, according to the Hamas Ministry of Health.