US blasts Israeli attack on 3rd UN school in Gaza

US blasts Israeli attack on 3rd UN school in Gaza
Mon Aug 4, 2014 08:32:18

Washington has strongly slammed a third Israeli bombardment of a declared UN-run school in Gaza that was sheltering nearly 3,000 displaced Palestinians, describing the “disgraceful” strikes as “appalling.”

"The United States is appalled by today's disgraceful shelling outside an UNRWA school in Rafah sheltering some 3,000 displaced persons, in which at least 10 more Palestinian civilians were tragically killed," State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki said in a Sunday statement while noting that the school had been designated a protected location.

"The coordinates of the school, like all UN facilities in Gaza, have been repeatedly communicated to the Israeli” forces, Psaki emphasized.

The Zionist regime launched earlier on Sunday yet another attack on a United Nations school in the town of Rafah, in southern Gaza, leaving at least 10 people dead and nearly 30 others injured. It was the third time in 10 days that a UN educational facility was targeted by Zionist forces in their nearly month-long onslaught against the besieged Gaza Strip.

"We once again stress that Israel must do more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties," added the US official, who usually defends most Zionist atrocities against Palestinians in the besieged territory.

Earlier in the day, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon denounced the shelling of the school as "a moral outrage and a criminal act."

"This madness must stop," Ban said through his spokesman.

He added that the strike was "yet another gross violation of international humanitarian law" by Israeli regime.

"This attack, along with other breaches of international law, must be swiftly investigated and those responsible held accountable. It is a moral outrage and a criminal act," he said.

More than 1,850 Palestinians have been killed, including women and children, and over 9,300 others injured by the Zionist regime’s offensive against the coastal enclave despite pressure from the international community. The United Nations says over 80 percent of the fatalities in Gaza have been civilians.

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