The United Nations confirmed on Saturday that a school operated by the organization in northern Gaza has suffered what appears to be a devastating impact. A top UN official described the incident as “horrifying.”
Video footage from al-Fakhoura School in Jabalya, which was serving as a shelter for displaced people, depicts a scene of tragedy with bloodied bodies scattered across multiple rooms on both floors of the two-story building. Among the casualties, many are women and children.
One room in the footage shows around a dozen bodies lying on the floor, covered in dust, with desks strewn and smashed. A significant hole is visible in one of the room’s walls. In the building courtyard, a canopy roof atop a metal structure seems to have been torn off, and debris litters the ground.
Juliette Touma, spokesperson for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), responsible for operating schools in Palestinian refugee camps and serving as the primary UN relief agency in Gaza, has confirmed the incident. As of now, the total number of casualties remains unclear, as information is still being collected. The United Nations confirmed
Touma stated that she could not confirm the cause of the incident or identify those responsible for it. The situation is ongoing, and further details are expected to emerge as the information becomes available.
UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini, who called the images “horrifying” in a post on X (formerly Twitter), said thousands of displaced people had been sheltering there at the time of the incident.