Gaza endures one of the deadliest weeks since start of the war, says UN

UNRWA headquarters in Gaza city 'destroyed beyond recognition'

Palestinians inspect a damaged UNRWA school following an Israeli air strike in Al Nuseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip this week. EPA

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The Gaza Strip has experienced one of the deadliest weeks since the war began, a UN official told The National on Tuesday, as Israel resumed intense shelling on civilian areas across the enclave.

On Saturday, more than 90 Palestinians were killed in Israeli strikes on Al Mawasi, a supposed "safe zone" for civilians, in a week in which Israel also launched deadly strikes across other areas in Gaza.

The headquarters for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, is now “destroyed beyond recognition”, spokeswoman Tamara Al Rifai said, as more than 38,700 people have been declared dead in the besieged enclave.

“The past week has been one of the deadliest in the Gaza Strip and for UNRWA it was a week where four of our schools were hit in four days,” she said.

Gaza's government media office said at least 23 people were killed and 73 others injured by an attack on the UNRWA-run Al Razi school in Nuseirat camp in central Gaza on Tuesday.

“The humanitarian situation keeps deteriorating even though as the largest aid agency we keep wondering if it can get worse: and it does,” Ms Al Rifai said.

UNRWA is still running eight healthcare clinics across Gaza which are receiving at least 1,000 patients a day, she said, adding this is “the primary reason for the lack of widespread diseases in Gaza”.

Since the war started in early October, 190 UNRWA installations have been hit, including shelters where 500 displaced people were killed and 1,600 injured.

They were supposed to be “our 'safe shelters. Nowhere is safe in Gaza”, Ms Al Rifai said.

A Palestinian inspects a damaged UNRWA school following an Israeli air strike in Al Nuseirat refugee camp. EPA

The agency provides more than 60 per cent of all primary health care and 80 per cent of all immunisation of children.

“This is a miracle to have lasted this long in view of the conditions and lack of access to medical supplies,” she said.

The war has displaced 1.9 million Palestinians, some of them up to 10 times, losing the last of their possessions with each move, she said.

UNRWA has also suffered from a lack of funding after the UK, US and many other countries stopped financing the agency in January following Israeli accusations that some of its staff had taken part in the Hamas-led attacks on the country on October 7.

The UK is set to reinstate its funding this week, sources told The National.

Ms Al Rifai's concern comes as Gaza's Health Ministry on Tuesday said at least 38,713 people have been killed and 89,166 wounded in Israeli attacks since the war started.

At least 16 people were killed overnight in Israeli bombardments across the southern and central areas of the enclave, according to the Palestinian news agency, Wafa.

Five Palestinians were killed in an air strike on their house in the southern city of Rafah, and in nearby Khan Younis several were killed including children.

In Nuseirat in central Gaza, one of the enclave’s eight historic refugee camps, five Palestinians were killed in separate shelling and aerial strikes, the Palestinian Red Crescent said.

The ministry said at least 13 people were killed and 26 injured in an Israeli attack on Al Mawasi camp in Khan Younis on Tuesday afternoon.

The southern area of Gaza city also came under attack on Tuesday.

An Israeli air strike killed four in Sheikh Zayed in northern Gaza, medics said.

Israel said it has conducted 40 targets, including what it believes to be Hamas military buildings harbouring weapons and explosives.

The Israeli military said its troops were continuing “intelligence-based” activities in Rafah and that air strikes had hit militants, tunnels and other Hamas military infrastructure.