An Israeli air strike on a school building in Gaza City that housed displaced Palestinians has killed more than 70 people, a hospital director told the BBC.
Fadl Naeem, head of Al-Ahli Hospital, where many of the victims were admitted, said these were the victims who had been identified so far; the remains of many others were so badly disfigured that identification was difficult.
An Israeli military spokesman said the Al-Taba’een school “served as an active military facility of Hamas and Islamic Jihad,” which Hamas denies.
The attack was criticized by Western powers and regional countries, who said it showed that Israel had no interest in a ceasefire or an end to the Gaza war.
Israel has attacked several such shelters in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks.
According to the United Nations, as of July 6, 477 of Gaza’s 564 school buildings had been directly hit or damaged, and more than a dozen more have been attacked since then.
Al-Taba’een School housed over 1,000 people and had recently taken in dozens of displaced people from the town of Beit Hanoun after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes.
The building also served as a mosque and the Israeli attack struck during morning prayers, witnesses said.
Jaafar Taha, a student who lives near the school, told the BBC that the bombing was followed by screams and noise.
“‘Save us, save us,’ they screamed,” he said.
“The sight was horrific. There were body parts everywhere and the walls were covered in blood.”
Salim Oweis, spokesman for the UN children’s agency Unicef, told the BBC that the attack was “truly outrageous”.
“All these schools are packed with civilians, children, mothers and families who are seeking refuge in any empty space, be it a school or a mosque, whatever, even in the courtyards of hospitals.”
The Israeli military said it had carried out “precise attacks on Hamas terrorists operating from a Hamas command and control center embedded in the Al-Taba’een school.”
A statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Service said that “at least 19 terrorists from Hamas and Islamic Jihad” were “eliminated” in the attack.
An earlier statement by the Israeli military said that “approximately 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants” were “operating” at the site.
Earlier estimates of the number of dead were also in the dozens. According to AP, the emergency services of the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health spoke of more than 60 dead. Civil defense put the number at over 90.
The BBC cannot independently verify the figures on either side.
The Israeli spokesman said the casualty figures released by Hamas officials “do not correspond with the information provided by the Israeli forces, the exact details of the ammunition used and the accuracy of the attack.”
Hamas described the attack as a “horrific crime and dangerous escalation” in Israel’s “war of extermination” against the Palestinian people.
Fatah, Hamas’s Palestinian political rival in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said Israel’s goal was to “wipe out the Palestinians through a policy of cumulative killings.”
The US expressed its “deep concern” about the reports of civilian casualties and demanded further details.
A spokesman for the US National Security Council said: “We know that Hamas uses schools as meeting places and operations.”
“But we have also said repeatedly and consistently that Israel must take measures to minimize harm to the civilian population.”
He said that “far too many civilians continue to be killed or injured,” adding that this “underscores the urgency of a ceasefire and a hostage agreement.”
Philippe Lazzarini, head of the UN relief agency UNRWA, which helps the Palestinians, said: “It is time for an end to these atrocities that are taking place under our watch.”
The French Foreign Ministry said it condemned the strike “in the strongest possible terms”.
“School buildings have been repeatedly attacked for several weeks, with an intolerable number of civilian casualties,” it said.
“Israel must respect international humanitarian law,” it continued.
British Foreign Secretary David Lammy expressed his “horror” at the “tragic loss of life” and stressed the need for an “immediate ceasefire”.
ReutersThis attack has once again highlighted a controversial dynamic in the Gaza war.
Israel claims that Hamas uses civilian infrastructure to plan and carry out its attacks and therefore attacks hospitals and schools – places that are protected under international law.
Hamas has always denied the allegations.
Be that as it may, both are places where Gazans displaced by the conflict have sought refuge – particularly in schools, over 80 percent of which have been directly hit or damaged.
Since the beginning of July, Israel has carried out at least 13 such attacks – four of them within four days. Each time it has said it is taking measures to reduce the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precise munitions.
Many of these schools were run by the UN before the war, and the UN has strongly condemned the strikes.
This appears to have been a particularly deadly incident. It will undoubtedly increase pressure for a ceasefire, but the reaction of regional mediators raises fears that it could further hamper ceasefire efforts.
Egypt, one of the mediators, said Israel’s “deliberate killing” of unarmed Palestinians showed that Israel lacked the political will to end the war.
Qatar, which is also involved in the ceasefire talks, called for an urgent international investigation.
In an attack on Israel on October 7, Hamas-led gunmen killed about 1,200 people and took 251 others hostage to Gaza.
This attack triggered a massive Israeli military offensive against Gaza and the current war.
According to the Hamas-run Health Ministry in the Gaza Strip, more than 39,790 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli campaign.
Additional reporting by Rushdi Abualouf, Gaza correspondent in Istanbul, Türkiye
