Fifteen killed in Israeli shelling of UN school sheltering Palestinians
Israel and Palestinians trade blame as Secretary General Ban Ki-moon condemns strike on Gaza shelter, in which 200 wounded
Fifteen people were killed, including a baby, yesterday when an Israeli shell slammed into a UN-run school in Gaza sheltering Palestinians fleeing fighting between Hamas and the army, medics said.
Ashraf Ashraf al-Qudra, spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, said as well as the 15 dead, another 200 people were wounded in the attack.
But Israeli army spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Peter Lerner cast doubt on whether the military was to blame, suggesting militants firing missiles could have caused the deaths.
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was appalled by the attack.
"Circumstances are still unclear. I strongly condemn this act," Ban said. "Many have been killed - including women and children, as well as UN staff."
It was the latest in a number of alleged Israeli strikes on schools and hospitals in the embattled Palestinian territory, as the death toll from a 17-day operation to halt rocket fire by Gaza militants topped 770.