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(NEW YORK) — Five Palestinians were killed on Wednesday at the U.N. aid distribution center in Rafah, the southern Gaza city bordering Egypt, the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health said. This distribution center is run by United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA), the main U.N. agency operating inside of Gaza.
The Gaza Ministry of Health said the U.N. distribution center was hit by shelling. ABC News has reached out to the Israel Defense Forces for comment on the attack.
Philippe Lazzarini, the Commissioner-General of the UNWRA, called for an “independent inquiry” into violations against the Israeli military’s targeting of U.N. sites in Gaza.
“Every day, we share the coordinates of all our facilities across the Gaza Strip with parties to the conflict. The Israeli Army received the coordinates including of this facility yesterday,” Lazzarini said in a post on X (formally known as Twitter) after the attack.
“The @UN, its personnel, premises and assets must be protected at all times. Since this war began, attacks against UN facilities, convoys and personnel have become commonplace in blatant disregard to international humanitarian law,” he added. “I am calling once again for an independent inquiry into these violations and the need for accountability.”
Aid agencies estimate there are now 1.4 million people, or two-thirds of Gaza’s total population, displaced in this small town that borders Egypt. All are competing for the scant resources available amid the Israel-Hamas war.
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