Hundreds of Palestinians had fled their homes for the refuge of the al-Fakhoura school, hoping the blue and white flag of the UN flying over the impromptu shelter would protect them from the Israeli onslaught. The UN had even given the Israeli army the co-ordinates for the building to spare it from the shells and air strikes raining down on the Gaza strip. But yesterday afternoon tank shells exploded outside the school, sending shrapnel into the crowds, killing at least 40 and wounding another 55.
It was the worst confirmed bloodshed of Israel's attack on Gaza and sparked outrage and condemnation around the globe, with the US President-elect Barack Obama breaking his 11-day silence, the UN Secretary Ban Ki-moon calling the incident "totally unacceptable" and Gordon Brown describing the conflict as "the darkest moment yet for the Middle East".
Within hours of the strike on the school, with the Palestinian death toll topping 600 and pressure mounting on Israel to stop its crushing military campaign, Egypt proposed an immediate ceasefire and talks with Israel and Hamas on a long-term settlement, including an end to the Gaza blockade.
If as Israel claims Hamas was using human shields they were ineffective against Israel's Final Solution. Jewish Nazis!
