EU, UNRWA condemn Israel's bombing of school in eastern Gaza

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell said the images from the shelter school in Gaza that was hit by an Israeli strike, with dozens of Palestinian victims, are "horrifying".

"At least 10 schools have been targeted in recent weeks, there is no justification for these massacres, and we are appalled at the terrible death toll," Borrell said in a post on the X platform. "More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the war, and a ceasefire is the only way to stop the killing of civilians and secure the release of prisoners," he added.

The Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, said the world woke up to another day of horror in Gaza following the bombing of another school and reports of dozens of martyrs, including women, children and the elderly. "Schools, our facilities and civilian infrastructure must not be targeted, and parties to the conflict must protect them."

He stressed that it is time to end these atrocities that are unfolding before our eyes. "We cannot allow these events to become normalised; the more they repeat, the more we lose our collective humanity," he said.