State Department Deputy Spokesperson Marie Harf delivers an unusually strong condemnation of Sunday’s shelling near an UNRWA school in Rafah, saying that the US was “appalled” by the “disgraceful shelling outside an UNRWA school.”
The US statement notes that the school was, at the time, sheltering some 3,000 displaced persons, and that “at least ten more Palestinian civilians were tragically killed.”
“The coordinates of the school, like all UN facilities in Gaza, have been repeatedly communicated to the Israeli Defense Forces,” the statement emphasizes.
US State Department deputy spokeswoman Marie Harf (screen capture: Youtube)
The State Department spokesperson said that “Israel must do more to meet its own standards and avoid civilian casualties.”
“UN facilities, especially those sheltering civilians, must be protected, and must not be used as bases from which to launch attacks,” Harf continues. “The suspicion that militants are operating nearby does not justify strikes that put at risk the lives of so many innocent civilians.”
Harf reiterates previous calls for “full and prompt investigations” of shelling at or around UNRWA facilities.
“We continue to underscore that all parties must take all feasible precautions to prevent civilian casualties and protect the civilian population and comply with international humanitarian law,” Harf concludes.
— Rebecca Shimoni Stoil
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