Grief, Anger As 93 Die In Israeli Strike On Gaza School
Date
8/11/2024 4:04:29 AM
(MENAFN- Gulf Times) Rescuers in Gaza said an Israeli air strike on a school housing displaced Palestinians killed 93 people Saturday, sparking international condemnation despite Israel's insistence that it was targeting militants.
Video from the site showed body parts scattered around and more bodies being carried away and covered in blankets on the floor.
Empty food tins lay in a puddle of blood, and burnt mattresses and a child's doll lay among the debris.
In another video, men prayed over a dozen body bags laid out on the ground of the Tabeen school complex.
The territory's Civil Emergency Service and the Hamas-run government media office said in separate statements that the complex had been attacked as its occupants were performing dawn prayers.
"So far, there are more than 93 martyrs, including 11 children and six women. There are unidentified remains," Palestinian civil defence spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told a televised press conference.
Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought shelter in Gaza's schools, most of which have been closed since the war began 10 months ago.
Around 350 families had been sheltering at the compound, Bassal said - some of the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by Israel's onslaught on Gaza.
The upper floor housing families and the lower floor, used as a mosque, were both hit, he said.
Palestinian resistance movement Hamas said the strike was a horrific crime and a serious escalation. A separate strike Saturday killed three Palestinians in Al-Nuseirat in central Gaza and another killed one person in nearby Deir Al-Balah, medics said.
Later in the day an Israeli strike killed three Palestinians in Rafah, medics said.
The health ministry in Gaza said that at least 39,790 people have been killed in the war, now in its 11th month.
The latest tolls do not appear to include Saturday's pre-dawn Israeli strike on a school.
The White House said it was "deeply concerned" about the Israeli strike on the Gaza City school compound and that it was in contact with Israeli officials asking for further details.
The European Union's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on X that he was horrified by the images from the school. France and Britain condemned the airstrike.
Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye all condemned the strike.
A Hamas official told Reuters the group was studying a new proposal for discussion but did not elaborate.
Egypt said the killing of Gaza civilians showed Israel had no intention of ending the war. Qatar's foreign ministry described the strike as a "horrific massacre".
Egypt, the United States and Qatar have scheduled a new round of ceasefire negotiations for Thursday, as fears grow of a broader conflict involving Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would send a delegation.
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