UN shelter hit by deadly shelling as south Gaza fighting escalates

Fighting intensified Wednesday in Gaza's Khan Yunis, the focus of Israel's war against Hamas, with the UN saying nine people were killed in tank shelling at one of its shelters, sparking international condemnation.

The United Nations slammed a "blatant disregard" for the rules of war while the United States deplored the attack at the shelter housing displaced Palestinians in southern Gaza's biggest city.

It came after the Israeli army said it had encircled Khan Yunis, the birthplace of Hamas's Gaza chief Yahya Sinwar, accused of being the

mastermind of the October 7 attacks that sparked the war.

Footage released by the military showed Israeli soldiers engaged in urban combat in the city amid ruined buildings. Large clouds of black smoke billowed over Khan Yunis during Israeli bombardments, AFP photos showed.

The attack on the UN shelter, housing 800 people, saw the site hit by two tank rounds, killing nine and injuring 75, said Thomas White, the Gaza head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees.

Philippe Lazzarini -- the head of the agency, UNRWA -- condemned the attack and said the number of dead was likely to rise.

"Once again a blatant disregard of basic rules of war," Lazzarini said on X, formerly Twitter, adding that the compound had been clearly marked as a UN facility, and its coordinates had been shared with Israeli authorities.

When asked about the incident, the Israeli army told AFP "a thorough review of the operations of the forces in the vicinity is underway," adding it was examining the possibility that the strike was a "result of Hamas fire".

/KN/