The United Nations is once again under the microscope for blaming Israel for an attack on a compound as it opts to curb its footprint in Gaza, according to the world body.

The spokesperson for United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued a statement noting the U.N. had “taken the difficult decision to reduce the Organization’s footprint in Gaza” even as “humanitarian needs soar.” 

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric claimed that “information currently available” indicated that a strike on the U.N.’s Deir al Balah compound on March 19 was “caused by an Israeli tank.” One U.N. employee was killed in the incident, and six others were wounded, Dujarric said. 

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On the date of the incident, the Israel Defense Forces Tweeted that “contrary to reports, the IDF did not strike a U.N. compound in Deir el Balah.” The IDF asked media outlets “to act with caution regarding unverified reports.”

The IDF told Fox News Digital Monday that the U.N.’s claim was “absolutely not accurate.” 

While his statement named Israel, it stopped short in naming the terrorist group Hamas or other extremist groups operating in Gaza. “The location of this U.N. compound was well known to the parties to the conflict,” Dujarric continued. “I reiterate that all parties to the conflict are bound by international law to protect the absolute inviolability of U.N. premises. Without this, our colleagues face intolerable risks as they work to save the lives of civilians.” Dujarric added that the “Secretary-General strongly condemns these strikes and demands a full, thorough and independent investigation on this incident.”

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Israeli troops deployed to Gaza. (IDF)

Foundation for Defense of Democracies research analyst Joe Truzman told Fox News Digital that Dujarric’s statement gave the “impression… that the United Nations has deliberately avoided criticizing Hamas and the other Palestinian terrorist groups in Gaza for fear of creating friction with the armed groups. This failed strategy has only emboldened Hamas and its allies, allowing them to exploit UNRWA facilities in Gaza with impunity. Time and again, authorities have uncovered terrorist infrastructure connected to UNRWA facilities, including agency employees who were members of terrorist groups and committed atrocities on October 7.”

On March 23, the IDF killed Hamas political bureau member Ismail Barhoum while he was purportedly operating out of Nassar Hospital in Khan Younis, Gaza. After media outlets, including Al Jazeera, claimed that Barhoum was being treated at the hospital, IDF international spokesperson Lt. Col. Nadav Shoshani Tweeted that Barhoum had “held meetings with other terrorists and senior figures in the terrorist organization” while remaining “in the hospital for many weeks.”

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U.N. and the World Health Organization vehicles wait to enter the Gaza Strip with aid intended for hospitals on April 25, 2024. (Majdi Fathi/TPS)

Truzman said the IDF’s explanation was “highly plausible.” 

“Hamas has become highly skilled at persuading the public that it does not operate from civilian infrastructure – a demonstrably false assertion,” Truzman said. In a tactic he has “witnessed for years,” he said that “Hamas and its allies deliberately embed themselves within civilian areas to evade detection.” 

Israeli soldiers sit on a tank in the northern Gaza Strip on March 18, 2025. (Amir Levy/Getty Images)

“The public must understand that Hamas’ top priority is not safeguarding Palestinian civilians but ensuring the Islamist group’s survival,” Truzman said.

Following a ceasefire and partial hostage exchange that saw 25 living and eight deceased hostages returned to Israel and almost 2,000 Palestinian prisoners released, conflict has returned to Gaza. With support from the Trump White House, Israel cut humanitarian aid to Gaza earlier this month in order to pressure Hamas into an extension of the ceasefire, and to free the hostages.

The attack comes as the Sudanese army pushes to take full control of the capital.

Paramilitary shelling on a mosque in eastern Khartoum has killed at least five people and injured dozens, a Sudanese pro-democracy lawyers’ group has said.

The attack on Monday, which has been blamed on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), targeted civilians during evening tarawih prayers at a mosque in the East Nile district of Khartoum, said the Emergency Lawyers network, which has been documenting abuses by both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

This is the second reported attack on civilians since the RSF lost central Khartoum, including the presidential palace, in a major government army offensive on Friday.

On Sunday, RSF artillery also pounded Omdurman, Khartoum’s twin city, killing three civilians in what eyewitnesses described as some of the heaviest bombardments in recent months.

The Sudanese army claims to have seized control of the main headquarters of the country’s central bank from the RSF as it continues to make advances in the capital.

Nabil Abdallah, an army spokesman, said in a statement to the AFP news agency on Saturday that the soldiers had “eliminated hundreds of militia members who tried to escape through pockets in central Khartoum”.

The RSF has consolidated control in the west, hardening battle lines and moving Sudan towards de facto partition. The RSF is setting up a parallel government in areas it controls, although that is not expected to secure widespread international recognition.

Since April 2023, the military, led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has been in an ongoing conflict with the RSF, headed by Burhan’s former deputy commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.

But the two-year-long conflict has left the country in a deep humanitarian crisis, with tens of thousands of people killed and more than 12 million people displaced.