Twenty-Five Armed Men Attack and Burn Gaza Summer Camp

Feature Photo: 

For the second time in a little over a month, a UN ran summer camp for children has been attacked and burned in central Gaza.

The raid time was very similar to a previous attack on May 23rd. Each time the camp was stormed by approximately twenty-five armed and masked men, the on-duty security guard was tied up, and equipment, tents and art supplies were burned. No one was injured in either attack.

Although nobody has taken credit for the camp burning yet, historically militant Islamic groups have had issues with the fact that both genders are allowed to attend the camps. Even though, in practice, the children are kept segregated within the UN camps, the system is still comparatively liberal when compared with Hamas controlled summer camps in the area.

Camps run by Hamas allow only one gender attend a location and the focus of the camps are placed on military training and teaching the Koran rather than recreational activities.

UNRWA said the camp would be repaired and promised to maintain its 1,200 summer camps, at which about 250,000 Gazan children take part in activities including sports, swimming, arts and theatre during the summer months.

Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls the Gaza, condemned the previous attack on 23 May.

Some in Gaza though believe that such attacks involving so many men could not be carried out with at least the complicit support of Hamas, BBC Gaza correspondent Jon Donnison reports.

Hamas also runs rival summer camps.

A spokesman for the Interior ministry in Gaza said it would catch whoever carried out last night's raid and that they would be jailed.