GAZA STRIP: Israel faced international condemnation Thursday after a strike killed 18 people at a school-turned-shelter for displaced Palestinians in war-torn Gaza, where the Israeli military said it targeted Hamas.

The attack flattened part of the UN-run Al-Jawni school in Nuseirat on Wednesday, leaving only a charred heap of rebar and concrete.

“For the fifth time, Israeli forces bombed the UNRWA-run Al-Jawni School, killing 18 citizens,” Gaza civil defence spokesperson Mahmud Bassal wrote on Telegram, referring to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

UNRWA later said six of its staff had been killed in two Israeli strikes on the school and its surroundings, calling it the highest death toll among its team in a single incident.

“Among those killed was the manager of the UNRWA shelter and other team members providing assistance to displaced people,” it said on X. “Schools and other civilian infrastructure must be protected at all times, they are not a target.”

The Israeli military said it had conducted a “precise strike” on Hamas within the school grounds. It did not elaborate on the outcome, but said “numerous steps” were taken to reduce the risk to civilians.

UN chief Antonio Guterres branded the strike “totally unacceptable”.

His condemnation was echoed by Israeli ally Germany, which said “humanitarian aid workers must never be victims of rockets”.