The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) in London has been gravely alarmed by Israel’s relentless air and ground bombardment of UN facilities in the besieged Gaza Strip, including hospitals and schools-turned-shelters.

Since the early morning hours, Israeli airstrikes hit a UNRWA school-turned-shelter in northern Gaza, housing 3,700 internally displaced Palestinians.

Live footage showed a crater in the middle of the compound of the school run by the U.N. agency for supporting Palestinians (UNRWA) in Beit Lahia. Thousands of people displaced by the war had taken refuge in the school.

Multiple casualties and injuries were also reported when Israeli army pummeled a compound run by the United Nations Development Programme. Nearly 4,000 people entered the compound seeking refuge from the war.

The ongoing genocides and mass killings wrought by Israeli onslaughts against civilians are unacceptable and must stop.

Civilians, civilian infrastructure, and the inviolability of UN facilities must be respected and protected at all times. International humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality, and precaution, must be respected and upheld.

PRC believes the attacks on schools, hospitals, UN facilities, and shelters for the displaced are outrageous & they again show a flagrant disregard for the lives of civilians. No place is safe in Gaza anymore, not even at UN facilities.

The international community and UN bodies must act without delay to stop this tragedy and spare further deaths and suffering. The international community must also work to ensure civilians and civilian infrastructure are protected, an effective and immediate ceasefire is enforced, and humanitarian aid gets into Gaza immediately.