Israel Names Hamas Gunmen It Says Were Targeted in Strike that Killed UNRWA Staff

JERUSALEM (Reuters) - On Thursday 12 September 2024, the Israeli military named nine men it said were Hamas militants killed in Gaza airstrikes that the UN Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA said had left six of its staffers dead.

The military said three of the Hamas men had doubled as UNRWA workers. Reuters was unable to independently verify their identities. There was no immediate comment from Hamas.

UNRWA said six staffers were killed in two airstrikes that hit a school in central Gaza on Wednesday 11 September 2024, the highest death toll among its staff in a single incident.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday condemned the attack, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said, adding that the attack had killed at least eighteen people, including the UNRWA staff, women and children. He said it took the total number of UNRWA staff killed in the conflict to 220. 

"This incident must be independently and thoroughly investigated to ensure accountability," Dujarric said. "The continued lack of effective protection for civilians in Gaza is unconscionable."

UNRWA said the school compound in central Gaza had been serving as a shelter for displaced people. The Israeli military said it was also being used by Hamas militants.

Guterres calls upon all parties to refrain from using schools, shelters or the areas around them for military purposes, Dujarric said.

UNRWA Director of Communications Juliette Touma said on Thursday that Israeli authorities had not asked the agency for a list of the staff killed in the attack on the school. The Israeli military said it did submit such a request.

"The names that appear on today's statement from the Israeli Army have not been flagged to us before by the Israeli authorities in previous occasions prior to today," Touma said.

The Israeli military says it takes steps to reduce the risk of harm to non-combatants in Gaza while it battles militants who use Palestinian civilians as human shields. Hamas denies this.

The Gaza war was triggered on 7 October 2023 when Hamas attacked Israel, killing 1,200 people and taking about 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Israel's subsequent assault on Gaza has killed more than 41,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry.