Gaza [Palestine], January 26: The death toll at a UN facility that was sheltering civilians in the south of the Gaza Strip rose to 12 on Thursday.
At least 75 people were injured when the building in the city of Khan Younis was hit by two tank shells the previous day, according to Thomas White, Gaza director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
A fire then broke out in the centre, where thousands of internally displaced people had sought shelter. The facility had been used as a UN vocational training centre for young Palestinians.
White did not say who had attacked the centre. Witnesses told DPA that the fire was caused by an Israeli bombardment.
But Israel's army said it had ruled out the possibility that the incident was the result of an Israeli air or artillery attack. It said an investigation was ongoing, including whether it could have been an attack by the Palestinian organization Hamas.
White spoke of unacceptable attacks on civilian facilities in Khan Younis and called for them to end.
Source: Qatar Tribune
