Israeli attack on UNRWA school in Burj al-Shemali in southern Lebanon's Sour district. (Credit: Photo sent by residents to L'Orient Today)
BEIRUT — Five people were killed in an Israeli drone strike near a school affiliated with the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees in the region (UNRWA) in Burj al-Shemali (Sour district), residents told L'Orient Today. While the school itself was not targeted, the strike damaged one of its walls, according to Burj al-Shemali municipal council president Ali Dib.
In a brief statement, UNRWA confirmed that its facility was not "directly hit" and that no fatalities occurred "inside" the building.
To date, no UNRWA schools in Lebanon have been directly targeted by Israel, despite dozens of strikes on similar facilities in Gaza. Several schools in border villages, however, have already been bombed by Israeli aircraft.
“The UNRWA school is outside the Burj al-Shemali Palestinian refugee camp and located in the town. It accommodates Lebanese displaced persons, and the martyrs are also from the displaced Lebanese,” our correspondent in southern Lebanon reported.
Shortly after the strike, the Amal Movement announced the death of three of its members, all born in Burj al-Shemali (Sour): Hassan Shibli, born in 1992; Ahmad Murad, 1977, and Sobhi Shebli, 1955. According to local sources contacted by our correspondent, the three were inside the school targeted by the Israeli drone. Two of them were described as Amal Movement "fighters," in the party's announcement.
The 302 Committee for the Defense of Refugee Rights issued a press release condemning the Israeli enemy's targeting of the "Palestine" school affiliated with UNRWA.
According to UNRWA's classification, the Palestine school is not considered a shelter for displaced persons but is occasionally used as a gathering place for some elderly and civilian residents from the neighboring area.
“We remind that United Nations organizations, including UNRWA, have diplomatic immunity, and any attack on them constitutes a violation of relevant international resolutions, which the Israeli enemy has habitually breached day and night, necessitating accountability, condemnation, and punishment,” the committee's statement concluded.
Dozens of UNRWA schools have been targeted by Israel in the Gaza Strip since Oct.23. UNRWA reported that since Oct. 13, a total of 228 UNRWA staff members in Gaza have been killed in the ongoing conflict.
Shortly after the strike on Burj al-Shemali, another deadly Israeli airstrike bombed the Sour region, hitting a first-aid center operated by al-Risala, the medical association affiliated with the Amal Movement, in Ain Baal. The attack killed at least seven people, including three first-aid workers and four women.
This information was updated at 9:40 p.m., following statements from UNRWA and the mayor of Burj al-Shemali — clarifying that the UNRWA school in the village was not directly targeted by the Israeli drone strike but was affected by damage to its surroundings.