An Israeli airstrike targeted a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City early Saturday, resulting in the deaths of over 60 people, according to Palestinian health officials. This tragic incident marks one of the deadliest attacks in the ongoing 10-month war between Israel and Hamas.
The Israeli military confirmed the strike, asserting that it was aimed at a Hamas command center located within the school. Hamas, however, denied any such use of the facility.
The strike on the Tabeen school, situated in central Gaza City, also left 47 people injured, as reported by the Health Ministry’s Ambulance and Emergency service. The school, like many others in Gaza, had been serving as a refuge for those displaced by the conflict.
According to witnesses, the attack occurred without warning in the early hours before sunrise, while people were praying in a mosque within the school premises.
Abu Anas, a rescuer at the scene, described the devastation, “There were people praying, there were people washing, and there were people upstairs sleeping, including children, women, and the elderly. The missile fell on them without warning. The first missile, and the second. We recovered them as body parts.”
The school and the mosque inside were hit by three missiles, according to Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for the Civil Defense first responders under the Hamas-led government. He noted that many of the deceased were unidentifiable and anticipated that the death toll could rise further. Among the casualties were numerous women and children.
The United Nations reports that 477 out of 564 schools in Gaza have been directly hit or damaged since the war began. In a similar incident in June, an Israeli airstrike on another school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza claimed at least 33 lives, including those of 12 women and children, according to local health officials.
Israel has attributed the civilian casualties in Gaza to Hamas, accusing the group of endangering non combatants by using schools and residential areas as bases for their operations. In its statement on Saturday, the Israeli military maintained that Hamas militants had used the school as a planning site for attacks on Israeli forces, though it did not provide evidence for these claims.
The airstrike occurred amidst renewed efforts by American, Qatari, and Egyptian mediators to broker a ceasefire. The situation has been further exacerbated by the recent assassination of top Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a senior Hezbollah commander in Beirut, fueling tensions in the region.
Egypt, which shares a border with Gaza and plays a crucial role as a mediator, condemned the strike, suggesting that it demonstrated Israel’s lack of commitment to a ceasefire and peace.
The ongoing conflict has devastated Gaza, with the Health Ministry reporting that over 39,600 Palestinians have been killed and more than 91,700 injured. The war, which was sparked by Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on October 7, has displaced over 1.9 million of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents. Many of these displaced individuals are now living in overcrowded tent camps along the Gaza coast, struggling to survive amidst the relentless violence.
