US calls on Israel to be ‘transparent’ on Gaza school strike

Washington, United States – AFP

The United States called Thursday on Israel to be transparent over a strike on a UN school in Gaza, including on whether children were killed.

“The government of Israel has said that they are going to release more information about this strike, including the names of those who died in it. We expect them to be fully transparent in making that information public,” State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

The strike killed at least 40 displaced Palestinians, including 14 children and nine women.

They were sheltering at the United Nations-run al-Sardi school, where 70 others were injured.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini said the attack on the school, which was housing 6,000 displaced individuals, occurred without warning. CNN and Washington Post quoted weapon experts saying Israel used US munitions in the strike. 

The Israeli military said it carried out a precision strike on a Hamas compound inside the school run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees UNRWA.

Miller said the United States believed Israeli assessments that Hamas has at times hidden in civilian infrastructure, but said it was waiting for information on the latest strike.

“We’ve seen the claims that 14 children were killed in this strike, and certainly, when you see — if that is accurate — that 14 children were killed, those aren’t terrorists,” he said.