Dozens killed as Israel bombs Gaza schools housing displaced Palestinians
At least 30 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed on Sunday when Israel launched air strikes on two United Nations-run schools in the west of Gaza City.
Palestinian Civil Defence spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal described the strike on Hassan Salameh and al-Nasr schools as “a massacre in every sense of the word” and the scenes of the attacks as “difficult and tragic”.
The Israeli military said it struck fighters inside a Hamas command centre embedded within the schools. Hamas denies using civilian institutions for military purposes.
On Sunday, the Israeli army carried out air strikes across the Gaza Strip, killing at least 49 Palestinians.
At least five people were killed and 18 others wounded in an overnight strike that hit a tent camp in the courtyard of al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, the Palestinian health ministry said.
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Thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge in the hospital in Deir al-Balah, one of the few operational hospitals in central Gaza.
Footage on social media showed Palestinians rushing to rescue the wounded and extinguish the large fire caused by the attack.
“The night was relatively calm when we heard a deafening sound of an explosion. I ran to the window, thinking the strike had hit an area near the hospital. But to my shock, they [Israeli forces] had hit inside the hospital’s compound, a few metres away from us,” Ali Tawil, a doctor at al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, told Middle East Eye.
“I saw the fire raging, people running in all directions, a state of hysteria and panic. I tried to compose myself quickly and rushed to the emergency room to treat people. Some had burns and others had shrapnel wounds."
Tawil added: “The scene was horrific. It was extremely difficult.”
Israel has struck 172 designated shelters, mostly schools, housing thousands of displaced families since the start of the war in October 2023, according to the Palestinian government media office.
In northern Gaza, an Israeli strike destroyed a house in the Jabalia refugee camp, killing at least eight people, including three children, their parents and their grandmother. Another strike in the area killed three people inside a car.
Sunday’s strikes came hours after an Israeli air strike killed at least 17 people and wounded 21 others sheltering in a school in Gaza City.
At least 39,550 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli military campaign in Gaza since last October, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
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