UN Staff Killed In Attack On Gaza, US Foreign Minister Blinken Asked Israel To Pay Attention To Humanitarian Worker Safety

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Twitter/@SecBlinken)

JAKARTA - United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken called for the protection of humanitarian workers after UN staff was killed in an Israeli attack on the Gaza Strip, Palestine.

"We need to see a protected humanitarian location, and that is something we continue to convey to Israel," Foreign Minister Blinken said, quoted from The Times of Israel September 13.

Foreign Minister Blinken also said the ceasefire and the US-backed hostage-taking deal were the best way to ensure their safety.

As previously reported, rescue teams said Israel's attack on a school in central Gaza last night killed 18 people, including UNRWA staff.

The United Nations Palestinian refugee agency said six staff were killed after two airstrikes hit a school in central Gaza on Wednesday, marking what it said was the highest death toll among its staff in one incident.

"Among those killed were the UNRWA shelter managers and other team members who provided assistance to displaced persons," UNRWA tweeted on X.

"This school has been attacked five times since the war began. The school houses about 12,000 displaced people, especially women and children," UNRWA said.

Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said the attack hit Hamas' control center located inside the Al-Jawni school in Nuseirat. The IDF accused Hamas of using the school to plan and carry out attacks on troops and Israelis.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the lack of accountability for the killing of UN staff and humanitarian aid workers in the Gaza Strip was "completely unacceptable."

Nearly 300 humanitarian aid workers, more than two-thirds of whom were UN staff, were also killed during the conflict in the Gaza Strip, according to the United Nations. Secretary General Guterres said there must be effective investigations and accountability for their deaths.

"We have a court, but we see that court decisions are not respected, and this kind of accountability uncertainty is completely unacceptable and also requires serious reflection," said Secretary General Guterres.

The Israeli military said it was taking steps to reduce the risk of harm to civilians, calling at least a third of Palestinian casualties in Gaza militant. They accuse Hamas of using Palestinian civilians as human shields, a charge the Palestinian militant group denies.