A United Nations-run school sheltering civilians in Gaza has been hit by Israeli artillery, the U.N. says. More than a dozen people have been killed, according to Palestinian officials.
Reuters quotes Chris Gunness, a spokesman for UNRWA, the main U.N. agency in Gaza, as confirming that the shelter in Beit Hanoun was hit.
The Associated Press reports that "Gaza health official Ashraf al-Kidra says the dead and injured in the school compound were among hundreds of people seeking shelter from heavy fighting in the area."
Reuters says:
"Laila Al-Shinbari, a woman who was at school when it was shelled, told Reuters families had gathered in the courtyard expecting to be evacuated shortly in a Red Cross convoy." 'All of us sat in one place when suddenly four shells landed on our heads ... Bodies were on the ground, (there was) blood and screams. My son is dead and all my relatives are wounded including my other kids,' she wept."
In 16 days of an Israeli offensive in Gaza, more than 700 Palestinians and 30 Israelis have been killed. Israel launched the operation in response to cross-border rocket attacks by Hamas.
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