Last update - 00:00 19/11/2006
UN agency: Two schoolchildren hurt by stray IDF gunfire in Gaza
By The Associated Press
Stray Israeli gunfire hit a United Nations school in the northern Gaza Strip, wounding two children, including a 7-year-old boy who was hit in the head as he sat as his desk, United Nations officials said Sunday.
The shooting occurred at a UN elementary school in Beit Lahiya, a village in northern Gaza where Israeli troops have been operating in recent days. The army was investigating the UN claim and had no immediate comment.
Hospital officials said the boy, Ahmed Abdel-Aziz, suffered light wounds above his eye. Minutes later, a 12-year-old girl was shot in the leg as students were being evacuated from the building.
The officials said both children were in stable condition. The boy returned home on Sunday, while the girl was still recovering after the bullet was removed from her leg, they said.
The UN Relief and Works Agency appealed for protection of civilians in the Gaza Strip after Saturday's shooting. "At present, children are not safe even in United Nations classrooms. We urgently need a solution," said John Ging, the agency's Gaza field director.
UNRWA is the main UN agency that provides food, housing, education and health care to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank and neighboring countries. The agency runs 187 schools serving 194,000 students in Gaza.
UNRWA officials frequently criticize Israeli policies in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel has long accused UNRWA - and the United Nations generally - of bias against it.