‘At least 30 killed’ in Israeli strike on Gaza school sheltering displaced people
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An Israeli airstrike has hit a school in central Gaza, killing at least 30 people, including seven children, Palestinian health officials have said.
The Hamas-run health ministry said another 100 people were wounded.
The attack hit the Khadija girls’ school in Deir al Balah, one of the areas most populated with displaced families.
Israel’s military said it targeted a Hamas command centre which it claimed was embedded inside the school and the compound was being used to plan attacks against troops and as a weapons store.
A statement said it had taken “numerous steps” prior to the strike to minimise civilian harm including “appropriate munitions, aerial surveillance and additional intelligence”.
The Israel Defence Forces added: “This is a further example of the Hamas terrorist organisation’s systematic violation of international law and exploitation of civilian structures and population as human shields for its attacks against the state of Israel.”
The dead and wounded were taken to the nearby al Aqsa Hospital, others arrived there bloodied on foot.
Classrooms were destroyed by the attack and people searched through rubble to find victims and gather remains.
Civil defence workers said more than 4,000 people were sheltering in the school and it also contained a medical site.
Israel intensifies military operations in Gaza as negotiations continue over ceasefire
Footage from the scene in Deir al Balah showed blown-out classroom walls and floors covered in blood and debris, along with people looking for their loved ones and belongings.
Dozens of casualties, both dead and alive, were taken to nearby al Aqsa Hospital where the survivors waited for treatment on the floor.
Hamas, which governs Gaza, said a schoolyard and a field medical centre were hit by three bombs fired by Israeli aircraft. And they’ve called it a horrific massacre against defenceless victims.
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) said it was targeting a command and control centre run by Hamas, where weapons were stored and where attacks were planned.
The strike in Deir al Balah came soon after the Israeli military ordered the evacuation of a part of a designated humanitarian zone in Gaza ahead of a planned strike on the southern city of Khan Younis.
Last week, Israel launched a fresh offensive there, killing dozens of Palestinians.
The United Nations said about 150,000 people fled Khan Younis on Monday alone. Some of those people made their way to Deir al Balah, where they thought they’d be safe.
Even though negotiations have been taking place over a ceasefire and a prisoner-hostage exchange, the Israelis have been intensifying their military operations in Gaza over the last couple of weeks.
The Israelis expect to send a delegation to Italy on Sunday and US officials have been briefing that the parties are close to an agreement.
But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t look like a man who is ready to put pen to paper on a ceasefire deal.
Irish prime minister Simon Harris has condemned the airstrike as “inhumane and despicable”.
Simon Harris condemned the attack as “a further demonstration of brutal, unconscionable violence”.
He said: “Israel continues to use disproportionate force and is engaging in a war that is having an unacceptable level of civilian death and injury, especially to children.”
Mr Harris added: “I again call for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages and unimpeded access for aid into Gaza.”
Ireland is one of the countries that recognises the state of Palestine.
Palestinian media said at least 14 people also died in Israeli strikes on Saturday in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza.
The Israeli military said it had urged people to temporarily evacuate southern neighbourhoods so it could “forcibly operate” there.
It said the offensive was in response to rocket fire from the area.
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Gaza authorities say at least 30 people died in the attack. Pic: Reuters
It’s the second evacuation order in a week that’s included striking part of the humanitarian zone, a 60-square-kilometre area full of tent camps.
About 1.8 million Palestinians are sheltering there, according to Israeli estimates, after being repeatedly uprooted by the fighting.
The injured were taken to Al Aqsa hospital
“These are forced displacement orders. What happens is when people have these orders, they have very little time to move,” said a spokeswoman for the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency.
Gaza health authorities say more than 39,000 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli strikes since the war began – figures which do not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
About 1,200 Israelis were murdered and more than 200 kidnapped in the 7 October Hamas attack that started the war.
Israel has pledged to wipe out Hamas but has been strongly criticised over the thousands of deaths – which include many women and children – and accused of not doing enough to limit civilian casualties, claims it denies.
It has repeatedly said Hamas deliberately embeds itself within civilian populations as cover, using people as “human shields”.
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Ongoing talks aimed to agree a ceasefire in exchange for the release of more hostages have so far proved unsuccessful.
America, Egypt, Qatar and Israel are set to meet in Italy on Sunday to continue negotiations on a deal.
US officials said yesterday that Hamas and Israel agreed on the basic framework of the deal.
However, Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu told US Congress this week the war would go on until “total victory” is achieved.