22 civilians killed in Israeli strike on UNRWA clinic in northern Gaza

GAZA CITY, Palestine/ANKARA (AA) – At least 22 Palestinian civilians were killed on Wednesday in an Israeli airstrike on a health clinic run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in northern Gaza, local authorities said.

Gaza’s government media office said women, children, and elderly people were among the victims, calling the attack “a full-fledged war crime”.

A medical source said earlier that nine children were among the victims, while dozens of people were injured in the attack on the UN-run clinic, where hundreds of displaced civilians have sheltered in Jabalia town.

According to witnesses, the strike caused a big fire at the building, burning the bodies of several victims.

The Israeli army admitted the attack, claiming that Hamas members were operating inside the clinic, without providing any evidence.

A military statement alleged that Hamas’ Jabalia Battalion used the building to attack Israeli targets.

Hamas dismissed the Israeli claims as a “blatant fabrication aimed at justifying the crime.”

“This crime reflects the fascist Netanyahu government’s disregard for all humanitarian and international laws and norms,” it said in a statement.

Citing witness accounts, Hamas stressed that all people sheltering inside the UN-run clinic were civilians.

The Palestinian Foreign Ministry denounced the Israeli attack and called for international pressure on Israel “to halt its genocide, displacement and annexation, and impose a political settlement per international law.”

Israel has killed more than 50,400 Palestinians in Gaza since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.