Extract from ABC News
In short:
More than 80 Palestinians have been killed and dozens have been injured in an Israeli air strike on a school sheltering displaced people east of Gaza City, according to Palestinian authorities.
The White House said it was "deeply concerned" about reports of the air strike, adding that Washington was in touch with Israel to seek more information.
What's next?
Egypt said the strike showed that Israel had no intention of reaching a ceasefire deal, potentially hindering renewed talks.
More than 80 Palestinians have been killed and dozens have been injured in an Israeli air strike on a school sheltering displaced people in the Daraj district, east of Gaza City, according to Palestinian authorities.
The health authorities said it was one of the deadliest attacks of the 10-month Israel-Gaza war, with a witness reporting the attack occurred during prayers at a mosque in the building.
The UN's human rights office has condemned the attack, saying "for many, schools are the last resort to find some shelter".
The office says it is the latest in a series of "systematic attacks on schools" by Israel, with at least 21 occurring since July 4, leaving hundreds dead.
The White House has said it was "deeply concerned" about reports of the air strike.
"We are deeply concerned about reports of civilian casualties in Gaza following a strike by the Israel Defense Forces on a compound that included a school," the White House said in a statement, adding Washington was in touch with Israel to seek more information.
"We know Hamas has been using schools as locations to gather and operate out of, but we have also said repeatedly and consistently that Israel must take measures to minimise civilian harm."
The Israeli military says it targeted the Tabeen school in central Gaza City, saying a mosque in its compound was being used as a Hamas command centre.
It says the strike killed 19 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters.
Izzat al-Rishq, a top Hamas official, denied there were militants in the school.
Israel's military also disputed the toll, saying the "precise munitions" used "cannot cause the amount of damage that is being reported" by the Hamas-run government.
It said the steps it took to limit the risk to civilians included the use of a "small warhead", aerial surveillance and intelligence information.
Reports the strike hit during morning prayers
Video from the site showed body parts scattered among rubble and more bodies being carried away and covered in blankets.
Fadel Naeem, director of the al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, told The Associated Press that it received 70 bodies along with the body parts of at least 10 others.
Gaza's Health Ministry said that another 47 people were injured.
"We received some of the most serious injuries we encountered during the war," he said, with many of the injured facing amputations or severe burns.
The strike hit without warning before sunrise as people prayed, according to witness Abu Anas.
"There were people praying, there were people washing and there were people upstairs sleeping, including children, women and old people," he said.
"The missile fell on them without warning. The first missile, and the second.
"We recovered them as body parts."
Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for the Civil Defense first responders who operate under the Hamas-run government, says three missiles hit the two-storey building.
The first floor housed the mosque, and the second level had a school — where about 6,000 displaced people were taking shelter, he said.
A camera operator working for the Associated Press said a missile appeared to have penetrated the floor of the classrooms to the mosque below and exploded.
As of July 6, the UN said 477 out of 564 schools in Gaza had been directly hit or damaged in the war.
Strike derails renewed ceasefire push
Israel has blamed civilian deaths in Gaza on Hamas, saying the group endangers people by using schools and residential neighbourhoods as bases for operations.
The UN human rights office acknowledged that co-locating combatants with civilians is a violation of international humanitarian law, but that Israel must also comply with the law's principles of precaution and proportionality.
The strike came as US, Qatari and Egyptian mediators renewed their push for Israel and Hamas to achieve a ceasefire agreement.
Egypt, which borders Gaza, said that the strike showed that Israel had no intention of reaching a ceasefire deal.
Neighbouring Jordan condemned the attack as a "blatant violation" of international law.
Qatar demanded an international investigation, calling it a "heinous crime" against civilians.
Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed more than 39,790 Palestinians and injured more than 92,000 others, according to the Health Ministry, which doesn't distinguish between combatants and civilians in its tally.
The war was triggered by Hamas' October 7 terrorist attack in southern Israel, which saw 1,200 people killed and 250 others abducted.
AP/Reuters
No comments:
Post a Comment