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U.N. Director in Gaza Condemns Israel for Attack on School

The director of the United Nation's development agency in Gaza condemned Israel for an overnight attack on a UN school in an interview with NBC News
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The director of the United Nation's development agency in Gaza condemned Israel for an overnight attack on a U.N. school in an interview with NBC News — and warned of an "unfolding humanitarian crisis" resulting from the flood of displaced Gazans as a result of the conflict with Israel.

"We were able to gather fragments from the explosive devices. We were able to take photos, look at the trajectory of where the fire came from. It clearly came from the northeast," Robert Turner, the director of operations for UNRWA Gaza, told NBC News on Wednesday. "That would lead us to believe it was Israeli forces that fired those shots," Turner added.

The attack on a U.N. school in Jabalia, Gaza, is the sixth attack on a U.N. school since the conflict began. Fifteen people were killed, according to UNRWA, and at least 120 people injured. The Israeli military has said its troops were responding to fire from the area around the school.

Turner said he has no way to verify whether militants operate in the areas around U.N. schools in Gaza. Israel has repeatedly said that militants have previously used schools to hide weapons, but Turner said those incidents took place at locations the organization had abandoned.

Turner also said that the U.N. was reaching a breaking point in terms of resources to help Gazans. "We're looking at an unfolding humanitarian crisis here. Not just displacement here, but for the entire population."

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— Richard Engel and James Novogrod