Many dead after Israelis hit school

In what appears to be the most tragic incident yet involving innocent Palestinian civilians, at least 40 people, including children, are reported to have died in an Israeli attack on the al-Fakhura school in the Jabaliya refugee camp east of Gaza City today. A further 50 or more people were injured.

The attack prompted President-elect Barack Obama to break his diplomatic silence on the conflict to say: "The loss of civilian life in Gaza and Israel is a source of deep concern for me."

About 350 people had been sheltering in the UN-run school to escape fighting between the Israel Defence Forces and Hamas fighters. The IDF claimed they had been come under fire from militants firing mortars from within the school. An IDF spokesman told the Reuters news agency: "In response, the forces fired a number of mortar rounds into the area."

It was the second UN-run school to be hit on Tuesday. In an earlier strike, three Palestinians were reported killed at a primary school in Gaza City. Following that attack, John Ging, director of operations for UNRWA, said conditions in the Gaza Strip were "horrific".

"It's very, very dangerous, and even the 14,000 who have sought refuge in our schools and shelters, they are not safe either," said Ging. "You cannot conduct huge military operations in such densely-populated places without killing hundreds and injuring thousands of civilians."

Prime Minister Gordon Brown said the current fighting in Gaza marked the "the darkest moment yet for the Middle East".

FIRST POSTED JANUARY 6, 2009