On Sunday, an Israeli airstrike on a school used as a shelter in Gaza City killed at least 30 people and injured several others, according to the Palestinian emergency response agency in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian news outlets. This is the third attack on a school in four days.
According to Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense, most of the victims were women and children.He described it as an F-16 fighter jet bombing Hassan Salame School where there are at least fourteen buried under the wreckage. Another one called Nasser was also affected by fragments and debris, New York Post has learned.
Israel’s military stated that they aimed at “terrorists” located within “Hamas command and control centers” in Hassan Salameh and Nasser schools. It said it had taken “many steps to minimize civilian damage,” such as employing precision armament systems or using surveillance capabilities before launching this strike but did not elaborate on how it had done this.
On Thursday, similar events took place when Basal reported 15 casualties from an attack on Dalal al-Mughrabi School while Basal gave a death toll of 17 due to an assault at Hamama School on Saturday.
All these four schools have been turned into overcrowded makeshifts for residents of Gaza who were forced out of their homes during conflict thus changing classrooms into dormitories as well as hallways into dwellings places.
After every strike videos appeared all over social media showing flames engulfing buildings, people screaming or running around in shock or confusion or lying still on the ground.
In its statement issued on Sunday, Israeli military maintained that Hamas uses civilians among them as human shields which is commonly argued by Israel when facing international criticisms because many people died during war. International law experts have argued that even if Hamas exploits them [the civilians], Israel should still strive to safeguard them since they claim so themselves.
Since October 7th when Hamas perpetrated a deadly attack on Israel thus starting this war, the majority of Gaza’s school buildings have been converted into shelters that house thousands of displaced persons. Many times the Israeli military has bombed schools in Gaza or shelled around them and often said that Hamas used these buildings. Hamas has denied the allegations.
