US 'deplores' Israeli strike on Gaza UN centre sheltering displaced

Deputy State Department spokesperson Vedant Patel expressed the United States' concern over Israel's strike on a UN training centre in Gaza's Khan Younis, which was sheltering displaced people on Wednesday.

"We deplore today's attack on the UN's Khan Younis training centre," Patel told a news briefing, calling it "incredibly concerning."

"Civilians must be protected, and the protected nature of UN facilities must be respected, and humanitarian workers must be protected so that they can continue providing civilians with the life-saving humanitarian assistance that they need," Patel said.

The Unrwa director in Gaza had said that an incident involving two Israeli tank rounds striking a building sheltering about 800 people in the southern Gaza Strip resulted in the death of nine Palestinians and injuries to 75 others.