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Many people were reported dead in an Israeli attack on a school building in Gaza.
Hamas authorities in Gaza City report that an Israeli air strike on a school housing displaced Palestinians has resulted in the deaths of many individuals.
A representative from the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) stated that al-Taba’een school was used as a military facility by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, housing around 20 militants.
The health ministry’s ambulance service reported over 60 fatalities and 47 injuries, as stated by the AP news agency.
Before, the Gaza civil defence agency – a rescue service – reported a minimum of 90 people died. The BBC is unable to confirm numbers from both parties on its own.
Israel has launched multiple strikes on such shelters in Gaza over the last few weeks.
The United Nations reported that 477 of the 564 school buildings in Gaza had been directly hit or damaged by July 6, with an additional 14 targeted since then.
Al-Taba’een school provided shelter for over 1,000 individuals, including many displaced from Beit Hanoun due to evacuation orders from the Israeli army.
Witnesses said the building was also used as a mosque, and it was struck by an Israeli attack during the early morning prayers.
Jaafar Taha, a student residing close to the school, informed the BBC that the bombing sound was accompanied by screams and loud noises.
He mentioned that they were yelling, “Save us, save us.”
“The sight was horrifying.” Body parts were scattered all over the place, with blood splattered across the walls.
Salim Oweis, who is a spokesperson for the UN children’s organization, Unicef, informed the BBC that the assault was extremely shocking.
All the schools are crowded with civilians, children, mothers, and families seeking refuge in any available space, whether it be a school, mosque, or even hospital grounds.
The Israeli military stated it had “accurately targeted Hamas militants located in a Hamas command and control center inside the al-Taba’een school”.
According to Lt Col Nadav Shoshani, an IDF spokesperson, Israeli intelligence indicated that about 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, including high-ranking leaders, were using the al-Tabaeen school compound to launch terrorist attacks.
Hamas refutes this claim.
The Israeli representative stated that the numbers of casualties provided by Hamas officials do not match the IDF’s information on the specific weapons used and the precision of the attack.
Hamas characterized the assault as a “terrible atrocity and a risky escalation” in Israel’s “campaign to eradicate the Palestinian population”.
Fatah, Hamas’s political Palestinian opponent in the West Bank, accused Israel of intending to eliminate Palestinians through a strategy of continuous violence.
Casualty figures for the attack on Saturday morning are higher than usual for similar strikes.
However, focusing on school buildings has become a common occurrence in IDF missions in the past few weeks, seemingly as part of an ongoing campaign to dismantle Hamas military assets.
Unofficial counts show that over a dozen schools have been affected since the start of July, with one instance of four schools being hit in just four days.
Every time, the IDF claims Hamas is utilizing schools as command centres to plan and execute attacks, a statement that Hamas consistently refutes.
In any situation, many displaced Gazans are finding refuge in these buildings and facing severe consequences.
The UN had control over a lot of schools before the war, and now they have criticized the attacks.
It remains uncertain whether this event will affect ongoing attempts to reach a ceasefire agreement, which were harmed by the killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Iran.
However, Egypt, one of the mediators working towards a ceasefire, stated that Israel’s intentional killing of unarmed Palestinians indicated a lack of determination to end the conflict.
Jordan stated that it showed the Israeli government’s attempts to impede and sabotage these efforts.
Gunmen associated with Hamas murdered around 1,200 individuals in an assault on Israel on October 7, and took 251 others as captives to Gaza.
The assault led to a large-scale Israeli military campaign in Gaza and the continuing conflict.
According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, over 39,600 Palestinians have lost their lives in the Israeli campaign.
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