At least 22 Palestinian civilians have been killed in an Israeli bomb attack on a UN clinic in Gaza. The death toll could rise as many of the injured are in critical condition, the Turkish news agency Anadolu Agency reported.
Local authorities in Gaza said that Israeli airstrikes hit a health clinic run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) in northern Gaza on Wednesday (April 2). The attack was carried out without any prior warning. Women, children and the elderly were among the dead.
The Gaza government media office confirmed the incident to international media. They called the attack a full-scale war crime and called for the intervention of the international community.
A medical source said that the UN-run clinic was taking shelter in the city of Jabalia, which was home to hundreds of displaced civilians. Nine children were among the dead. The damage to the clinic has made it impossible to provide adequate treatment to the injured.
According to witnesses, the attack caused a huge fire in the building. As a result, several of the bodies of the victims were burned.
The Israeli army admitted to the attack and claimed that Hamas members were carrying out terrorist acts inside the clinic. However, they could not provide any evidence.
Hamas, on the other hand, rejected the Israeli claims as “blatant lies intended to justify crimes.”