At least 14 Palestinians were killed and 18 others were injured on Wednesday in a new Israeli army bombardment on Al Jaouni school in central Gaza, which was sheltering families who lost their homes, the Gaza government reported. Rescue forces are continuing their search for victims under the rubble this afternoon, according to the spokesman for the Civil Defense in the Gaza Strip.
The school was run by the UN Refugee Agency (UNRWA). The victims included two of its employees, as well as women and children; Videos released moments after the attack showed dozens of people digging through the rubble to rescue the bodies of those trapped after the impact of Israeli projectiles.
According to the Gaza government’s communications office, which is controlled by the Islamist group Hamas, the center housed more than 5,000 displaced people. Many schools and UNRWA headquarters have been converted into housing for those who lost their homes in Israel’s bombing campaign, which has now lasted more than 11 months.
During this period, more than 41,000 people died in the Gaza Strip, according to local authorities.
For its part, the Israeli army announced that “the air force carried out a precise attack against terrorists operating within a Hamas command and control center in the Nuseirat region.” In a statement, it specified that this center was located “within a complex that was previously the Al Jaouni school” and that “it was used by Hamas terrorists to plan and execute terrorist attacks against the troops and the State of Israel.”
The army said it had taken measures to “mitigate the risk of harm to civilians,” such as the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance and other intelligence methods, although it usually makes these statements whenever it attacks locations protected by international humanitarian law, such as schools or hospitals. The military statement insisted that Hamas systematically uses civilian infrastructure for its military operations, “in violation of international law.”
According to the Gaza government, Israel has bombed more than 18 schools or shelters in the Nuseirat refugee camp. “We hold the Israeli occupation and the American administration fully responsible for continuing the crime of genocide and committing massacres against civilians in the Gaza Strip,” the government said in a statement.
