More than a dozen people were killed in Israeli strikes on two schools housing displaced people in Gaza City on Thursday, Palestinian officials said, the latest in a series of attacks on education centers Israel says are being used by Hamas to plan its operations.
At least 16 people died and 37 were wounded when missiles slammed into the Abdul Fattah Hamoud and al-Zahra schools nearly simultaneously, according to the Gaza civil defense force. The schools are located less than a mile apart in the city’s eastern neighborhoods.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “the school compounds were used by Hamas terrorists and commanders as command and control centers” from which they planned and carried out attacks.
Many Palestinians displaced by the fighting, or whose homes have been destroyed in the war, have sought shelter in schools across the Gaza Strip, crowding into disused classrooms to pool resources and in the hope that the facilities might provide some protection.
Palestinians mourn relatives killed in a strike on a school used as a refuge for displaced people in Gaza City on Thursday. (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images)
But in recent weeks, strikes on schools have become much more frequent, with Israel targeting seven schools in the eight days prior to the attacks Thursday, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office.
In a report this week, the United Nations said it was “horrified” by the escalation, which has seen at least 163 Palestinians — including children and women — killed in strikes on at least 17 schools over the past month.
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Rights groups say there is evidence Israel is not doing enough to distinguish civilians from combatants in Gaza, where the months-long war has killed at least 39,699 people, according to local health officials. The Gaza Health Ministry does not differentiate between civilians and fighters in its toll, but says the majority of the dead are women and children.
The Israel Defense Forces said that it took “numerous steps” to mitigate harm to civilians in the strikes on the two schools Thursday, “including the use of precise munitions, surveillance, and additional intelligence.”
But none of that was enough to safeguard the family of Mazen al-Fayoumi, 49, a father of 13 who had returned to the Abdul Fattah Hamoud school in Gaza City’s al-Daraj neighborhood after his rounds distributing water in the city.
He lay down for a nap in the classroom where his family has been sheltering since December, when their house was destroyed.
“Suddenly, there was dust,” he said. “We did not know what had happened.”
He found his 17-year-old daughter dead at the door, he said, then discovered his son-in-law and niece in the schoolyard — also dead.
The strike had targeted a classroom opposite to where his family was staying, according to Fayoumi, who said the room was rumored to have been used by Hamas police and “detectives.”
“We do not know who was inside it and we do not know if this is true,” he said.
Hamas, which controlled Gaza for 17 years, condemned the strikes as the latest in a string of “brutal massacres against citizens in displacement and shelter centers.” It did not address allegations that its fighters had used the buildings to coordinate attacks.
At least 16 people died and 37 were wounded when missiles slammed into the Abdul Fattah Hamoud and al-Zahra schools nearly simultaneously, according to the Gaza civil defense force. The schools are located less than a mile apart in the city’s eastern neighborhoods.
The Israeli military said in a statement that “the school compounds were used by Hamas terrorists and commanders as command and control centers” from which they planned and carried out attacks.
Many Palestinians displaced by the fighting, or whose homes have been destroyed in the war, have sought shelter in schools across the Gaza Strip, crowding into disused classrooms to pool resources and in the hope that the facilities might provide some protection.
Palestinians mourn relatives killed in a strike on a school used as a refuge for displaced people in Gaza City on Thursday. (Omar Al-Qattaa/AFP/Getty Images)
But in recent weeks, strikes on schools have become much more frequent, with Israel targeting seven schools in the eight days prior to the attacks Thursday, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office.
In a report this week, the United Nations said it was “horrified” by the escalation, which has seen at least 163 Palestinians — including children and women — killed in strikes on at least 17 schools over the past month.
🌎
Follow World news
Rights groups say there is evidence Israel is not doing enough to distinguish civilians from combatants in Gaza, where the months-long war has killed at least 39,699 people, according to local health officials. The Gaza Health Ministry does not differentiate between civilians and fighters in its toll, but says the majority of the dead are women and children.
The Israel Defense Forces said that it took “numerous steps” to mitigate harm to civilians in the strikes on the two schools Thursday, “including the use of precise munitions, surveillance, and additional intelligence.”
But none of that was enough to safeguard the family of Mazen al-Fayoumi, 49, a father of 13 who had returned to the Abdul Fattah Hamoud school in Gaza City’s al-Daraj neighborhood after his rounds distributing water in the city.
He lay down for a nap in the classroom where his family has been sheltering since December, when their house was destroyed.
“Suddenly, there was dust,” he said. “We did not know what had happened.”
He found his 17-year-old daughter dead at the door, he said, then discovered his son-in-law and niece in the schoolyard — also dead.
The strike had targeted a classroom opposite to where his family was staying, according to Fayoumi, who said the room was rumored to have been used by Hamas police and “detectives.”
“We do not know who was inside it and we do not know if this is true,” he said.
Hamas, which controlled Gaza for 17 years, condemned the strikes as the latest in a string of “brutal massacres against citizens in displacement and shelter centers.” It did not address allegations that its fighters had used the buildings to coordinate attacks.
