China News Service, Beijing, January 25th Comprehensive news: On the 24th local time, a United Nations facility used to house refugees in Khan Younis, the second largest city in the Gaza Strip, was attacked, causing at least 9 deaths and 75 injuries.

There were reports that the facility was attacked by Israeli forces, which Israel denied.

　　The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) issued a statement saying that the facility was originally a training center operated by UNRWA and currently houses approximately 30,000 refugees.

UNRWA Chief Commissioner Lazzarini said the death toll could be higher than current statistics.

He emphasized that, like all United Nations facilities in the Gaza Strip, the training center has a visible United Nations logo and its coordinates were shared with the Israeli authorities. The attack was "yet another blatant disregard for the basic rules of war."

　　According to CNN, the Israeli army is launching a fierce offensive against the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) in Khan Younis, and Israeli tanks are also deployed around the UN facilities that were attacked.

White, UNRWA's director of Gaza affairs, said that people have been unable to safely enter and exit the facility for two consecutive days. Teams from UNRWA and WHO tried to enter, but the passage was blocked.

　　As Israel was attacking Hamas in Khan Younis, media outlets such as Al Jazeera claimed that it was the Israeli military that was attacking UN facilities.

Israel insists that the matter has nothing to do with it.

Reuters quoted an Israeli military statement saying that the Israeli army had inspected its operational systems and ruled out the possibility of its troops attacking the facility.

The statement also said a thorough review was ongoing to investigate whether the attack was caused by Hamas fire.

　　The Associated Press reported that due to fierce fighting between the Israeli army and Hamas in Khan Younis on the 24th, hundreds of civilians were trapped in the main local hospital, Nasser Hospital.

Israeli forces ordered local residents to evacuate parts of central Khan Younis, including the Nasser Hospital and two smaller medical facilities.

According to United Nations statistics, this area is home to 88,000 civilians and hosts more than 40,000 refugees from northern Gaza.

　　The Associated Press quoted Doctors Without Borders as saying that there are only two hospitals left in southern Gaza that can treat critically ill patients, and Nasser Hospital is one of them.

　　According to UNRWA, 75% of the population in the Gaza Strip has been displaced, and approximately 1.7 million people live in UN or public shelters.

McGoldrick, the United Nations' interim humanitarian coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territories, said refugees need more humanitarian assistance.

He said that "under better circumstances", about 250 trucks can currently enter Gaza through the Rafah crossing in a day, while the number of trucks passing through per day previously reached 500.

　　The Times of Israel stated that on the 24th local time, a group of Israeli civilians demonstrated on the road outside the southern border of the Gaza Strip to prevent trucks flying the Egyptian flag from entering Gaza.

Only 9 of the 60 trucks transporting aid supplies entered Gaza, and the remaining vehicles returned to Egypt after waiting for 6 hours.

According to reports, the demonstration was not officially sanctioned by Israel.

(over)