A 10-year-old Palestinian girl was shot in the head and critically wounded by Israeli army gunfire while sitting in the classroom of a UN school in the Gaza Strip, the UN claimed today.
Officials said Raghda Adnan al-Assar was at her desk in the Khan Younis refugee camp during morning classes yesterday when she was shot.
Hospital officials said she remained in critical condition today after major surgery.
The army said it did not fire at any buildings or schools at the time of the incident, although it said soldiers had exchanged fire with militants. An investigation was continuing.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency said it was the third time a child sitting in a UN classroom has been hit by random Israeli army fire.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Peter Hansen condemned the shooting and said his agency will file a complaint with the Israeli army.
"The kind of live firing into refugee camps that is so indiscriminate that it makes classrooms dangerous for 10-year-old children is totally unacceptable," Hansen said.
UNRWA provides education and other humanitarian services to Palestinian refugees throughout the Middle East.
AP