Israeli airstrike on school refuge kills nearly 100

An Israeli airstrike on a Gaza City school compound, which was sheltering displaced Palestinian families, killed nearly 100 people, according to the Gaza Civil Emergency Service on Saturday. Israeli officials, however, contested the death toll, claiming 19 militants were among the dead and accusing Palestinian authorities of inflating the numbers.

Video footage from the site depicted a harrowing scene with body parts scattered and more bodies being carried away and covered in blankets. Empty food tins, burnt mattresses, and a child’s doll were seen amidst pools of blood and debris.

In another video, men were seen praying over a dozen body bags laid out on the ground at the Tabeen school complex.

The Gaza Civil Emergency Service, known for its credible reporting on casualty figures, and the Hamas-run government media office both stated that the complex was attacked during dawn prayers. Mahmoud Bassal, a spokesperson for the Palestinian civil defense, reported in a televised press conference, “So far, there are more than 93 martyrs, including 11 children and six women. There are unidentified remains.”

Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge in Gaza’s schools, many of which have been closed since the conflict began 10 months ago.

Bassal noted that around 350 families were sheltering at the compound, just a fraction of the hundreds of thousands displaced by Israel’s ongoing assault on Gaza. He added that both the upper floor, housing families, and the lower floor, used as a mosque, were hit.

The Israeli military disputed the reported death toll. “The strike was carried out using three precise munitions, which cannot cause the amount of damage that is being reported,” the military said in a statement. They provided aerial photos and videos to support their claim that no severe damage was caused to the compound, which they asserted was an active Hamas and Islamic Jihad military facility.

Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said, “The compound, and the mosque that was struck within it, served as an active Hamas and Islamic Jihad military facility.”

In response, Hamas condemned the strike as a horrific crime and a serious escalation. Izzat El-Reshiq of Hamas’s political office denied that any combatants were among the dead.

Elsewhere in Gaza, separate Israeli strikes on Saturday killed three Palestinians in Al-Nuseirat, one person in Deir Al-Balah, and three more in Rafah near the Egyptian border. Additionally, the Israeli military announced the assassination of Walid Alsousi, head of general security in Hamas’s military wing, in southern Gaza.

The incident has drawn international condemnation. The White House expressed deep concern and sought further details from Israeli officials. European Union’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, along with France and Britain, condemned the airstrike. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’s spokesperson, Nabil Abu Rudeineh, urged Washington to end its “blind support” for Israel.

Senior Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri called for a turning point in mediation efforts to resume ceasefire talks. Egypt, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey also condemned the strike, with Qatar’s foreign ministry labeling it a “horrific massacre.”

As tensions escalate, Egypt, the United States, and Qatar have scheduled a new round of ceasefire negotiations for Thursday. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to continue the war until Hamas no longer poses a threat, said he would send a delegation.

The conflict began after Hamas fighters stormed into southern Israel on Oct. 7, killing 1,200 people and capturing over 250 hostages. Since then, nearly 40,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to the health ministry, which does not distinguish between combatants and civilians. Israel reports that at least a third of these fatalities are fighters, while it has lost 329 soldiers in the conflict.