Compound where about 6,000 displaced people were sheltering hit as many prepared for dawn prayers
At least 80 people have been killed in Israeli missile strikes on a school compound in Gaza City, according to the territory’s civil defence service, the latest in a string of attacks on schools that the Israeli army says are targeting militants using them as bases.
The bombing of the Tabeen school compound, where about 6,000 displaced people were sheltering, was hit when many people were preparing for dawn prayers on Saturday, and reportedly caused a fire. Unverified video from the scene showed horrific loss of life, with body parts and pools of blood scattered around.
The death toll has not yet been confirmed by the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which does not differentiate between civilian and militant casualties.
Fadel Naeem, the director of al-Ahli hospital in Gaza City, told the Associated Press that the facility had received 70 bodies of those killed in the strikes and the body parts of at least 10 others.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said in a statement that the Palestinian claim was inflated, and at least 20 fighters were among the dead.
Israeli forces have targeted more than a dozen schools in the past few weeks – including at one point four in four days – adding to the Gaza war’s staggering death toll, which is now approaching 40,000.
Israel blames Hamas for civilian casualties, saying that its fighters use civilian infrastructure as a cover, which makes buildings such as schools and hospitals valid targets. Hamas denies those claims.
Almost all of the strip’s 2.3-million population has been forced to flee their homes, often multiple times, over the past 10 months, and schools in particular have been used as shelters.
According to the civil defence, three missiles targeted a two-storey building where women were using the top floor and men and boys the ground floor, which was also used as a space for prayer.
A Hamas political officer, Izzat el Reshiq, called the strikes a horrific crime and a serious escalation, adding in a statement that the dead did not include a “single combatant”.
The West Bank-based Palestinian Authority also made a rare statement on the attack. A spokesperson for the president, Mahmoud Abbas, urged the US – Israel’s most important diplomatic ally and weapons supplier – to “put an end to the blind support that leads to the killing of thousands of innocent civilians, including children, women, and the elderly”.
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur for the Palestinian territories, said on X: “Israel is genociding the Palestinians one neighbourhood at the time, one hospital at the time, one school at the time, one refugee camp at the time, one safe zone at the time.”
A report issued by her office in March found there were “reasonable grounds” to determine that Israel had committed several acts of genocide in its war effort in Gaza.
Jordan and Egypt also immediately condemned the attack, with Egypt’s foreign ministry saying that Israel’s “deliberate killing” of Palestinians proves a lack of political will to end the war in Gaza.
Egypt, along with the US and Qatar, called this week for Israel and Hamas to resume negotiations to finalise a ceasefire and hostage-release deal, saying there were no excuses “from any party for further delay”.
The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Israel would send a delegation to the talks beginning on 15 August. His administration has been accused of repeatedly sabotaging ceasefire talks.
There has been no response yet from Hamas, and is unclear if the latest deadly strike will affect the militant group’s position.
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