Israeli attack on Gaza school kills over 100, worsens humanitarian crisis

An airstrike on a school complex in Gaza on Saturday (10) resulted in the deaths of more than 100 people, according to the Gaza government’s communications agency. Initially, Palestinian authorities had reported around 40 dead, a number that was updated hours after the attack.

The Hamas press office said the attacks took place during dawn prayers. Schools in the area have been used as shelters for Palestinians who have been forced to flee their homes due to the ongoing conflict.

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HAS AFPAbu Anas, a witness who participated in the rescue of the victims, described the devastating scene: “There were people praying, washing clothes and sleeping, including children, women and the elderly. The missile fell on them without warning. We recovered the bodies in pieces.”

Saturday’s attack is the fifth on a school since last Sunday (4). According to data from the United Nations (UN), 477 of the 564 school buildings in Gaza were directly hit or damaged as of July 6. Since then, at least 14 others have been targeted. The Al-Taba’een school, which was hit on Saturday, was home to more than 1,000 people, including those recently displaced from the city of Beit Hanoun after the Israeli army ordered them to evacuate their homes.

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The UN Human Rights Office said earlier this week that it was “horrified by the unfolding pattern” of attacks on schools in Gaza, according to a statement on August 5, adding that “such attacks are increasing.”

The Israeli offensive on Gaza, which began after Hamas’s October 7 attack, has killed more than 39,000 Palestinians and injured more than 91,000, according to the local health ministry. Some 1.9 million people, out of the 2.3 million who lived in Gaza before the war, have been displaced and are now living in precarious conditions in tent camps on the Gaza coast.

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The attack comes at a critical time as mediators from the United States, Qatar and Egypt step up efforts to broker a ceasefire between the parties. Tensions in the region have risen following the assassination of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a Hezbollah commander in Beirut.

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with information from agencies