Gaza (Quds News Network)- Israeli forces set a school-turned-shelter in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza on fire, hours after aid trucks arrived at the school following over 40 days of relentless Israeli attacks and military siege.
Footage circulating on social media showed the Mahdiya al-Shawa school engulfed by flames and smoke after being set on fire by the Israeli forces.
According to local journalists, the attack took place on Monday, hours after aid trucks arrived at the school – following over 40 days during which an Israeli siege of the northern half of the Gaza strip left Palestinians with scarce food supplies.
The displaced people sheltering in the school were once again forced to flee and find another shelter.
According to Israeli newspaper Haaretz, witnesses said soldiers forced civilians away from the area, preventing them from collecting aid from the first convoy to reach the area in over a month. The aid was later destroyed by the fire. Reports also said civilians had been killed at the site.
The soldiers involved belonged to the Rotem Battalion in the Givati Brigade, the reports said.
Staff from the UN World Food Program, which sent the aid, as well as other international sources, said Gazans did not even have time to collect the aid. They said the military launched an attack in the area and soldiers had surrounded the building before the food was distributed.
