The UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs denounced a recent Israeli attack on al-Tabeen School in Gaza City, calling on the parties to end all escalatory rhetoric and actions to avoid “an even greater catastrophe”, Anadolu reports.

“The devastating Israeli attack on al-Tabeen School in Gaza City, which prompted this meeting, points once again to the desperate need to reach a cease-fire, free the hostages and scale up humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Rosemary DiCarlo told a Security Council session on Palestine.

DiCarlo reiterated UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ remarks condemning the “continued loss of life in Gaza following another attack on a school sheltering hundreds of displaced Palestinian families.”

Emphasising that the situation across the Gaza Strip “remains catastrophic for civilians,” she said “no place is safe in Gaza, yet civilians continue to be ordered to evacuate to ever shrinking areas.”