GAZA, Jan 6 (Reuters) – Israeli tank shells killed at least 40 Palestinians on Tuesday at a U.N. school where civilians had taken shelter, medical officials said, in carnage likely to boost international calls for a halt to Israel’s Gaza offensive.
An Israeli military spokeswoman said she was looking into information on the incident at al-Fakhora school in Jabalya refugee camp.
People cut down by shrapnel lay in pools of blood on the street. Witnesses said two Israeli tanks shells exploded outside the school, killing at least 40 civilians — Palestinians who had taken refuge there and residents of nearby buildings.
In a separate attack earlier in the day, three Palestinians were killed in an airstrike on another school run by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.
The deaths raised to 75 the number of Palestinian civilians killed on Tuesday alone, according to medical officials.
GAZA CITY (CNN) — The Israeli military stepped up its offensive in Gaza Tuesday, surrounding densely populated Gaza City with its ground forces after at least 50 air strikes pounded the region overnight.
The United Nations said one Israeli air attack struck an elementary school in Gaza City where hundreds of Palestinians had taken shelter, killing three men.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency said Asma Elementary school was clearly marked as a U.N. installation. It said over 400 people had been given shelter at the school when it was hit Monday night.
“Well before the current fighting, UNRWA had given to the Israeli authorities the GPS (global positioning system) co-ordinates of all its installations in Gaza, including Asma Elementary School,” the agency said in a news release.
“UNRWA is strongly protesting these killings to the Israeli authorities and is calling for an immediate and impartial investigation,” it added.
Carnagiu in Gaza: 75 de morti dintre care peste 40 intr-o tabara de refugiati. Israelul ataca Scolile in ciuda informatiilor clare date de ONU
January 6th, 2009
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