An independent UN-appointed expert accused Israel of committing “genocide” in its Gaza war after an Israeli strike targeting a school on Saturday killed 93 people, according to local rescuers.
“Israel is genociding the Palestinians one neighborhood 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,” Francesca Albanese, the United Nations special rapporteur on the rights situation in Palestinian territories, said on social media platform X.
Gaza: In the largest and most shameful concentration camp of the 21st century, Israel is genociding the Palestinians one neighborhood 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. With US and European… https://t.co/bHmrFbySYi
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur oPt (@FranceskAlbs) August 10, 2024
Earlier, Gaza’s civil defense agency said the Israeli strike killed 93 people, as Israel’s military accused militants of using the building as a command center.
Civil defense in the Hamas-ruled territory added that three Israeli missiles hit the school in Gaza City while people performed dawn prayers.
“Their bodies were torn apart,” civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP. “It reminds us of the first days of the war in the Gaza Strip.”
AFP could not independently verify the toll which, if confirmed, would appear to be one of the largest from a single strike during 10 months of war between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants.
“Dangerous Escalation”
Israel’s army said Saturday it had “precisely struck Hamas terrorists operating within a Hamas command and control center embedded in the Al-Tabieen school”.
“It can be confirmed at this time that at least 19 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists were eliminated” in the strike on Al-Tabieen religious school, the Israeli army said in a statement, citing “an intelligence investigation” and giving the names of the alleged militants it said had been killed.
“Numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and intelligence information,” the military said.
The military has repeatedly made similar accusations after strikes on the school shelters. Hamas has previously denied Israeli claims that it uses schools, hospitals and other civilian facilities for military aims.
“The massacre at Al-Tabieen School in the Daraj neighborhood in central Gaza City is a horrific crime that constitutes a dangerous escalation,” Hamas said in a statement.
The Islamic Jihad Palestinian military group said that the strike took place “during the dawn prayer.”
Ismail al-Thawabta, director general of the Gaza government media office, told AFP that the strike “resulted in more than 100 martyrs and dozens of injuries, most of which are in severe and critical condition.”
International condemnation
Jordan’s foreign ministry said the timing of the school strike “is an indication of the Israeli government’s efforts to obstruct and thwart these efforts”, while Qatar called for an “urgent international investigation”.
Saudi Arabia also condemned the attack, calling for an end to the “massacres” in the Gaza Strip.
Gaza government media sources said the school was housing about 250 Palestinians, about half of them women and children.
Turkey denounced a “new crime against humanity”, according to a foreign ministry statement.
“Israel has committed a new crime against humanity by massacring more than a hundred civilians who had taken refuge in a school,” the ministry said.
“This attack shows once again that the Netanyahu government wants to sabotage permanent ceasefire negotiations.
“The international actors who do not take measures to stop Israel are making themselves complicit in these crimes.”
“Horrified by images from a sheltering school in Gaza hit by an Israeli strike, with reportedly dozens of Palestinian victims. At least 10 schools were targeted in the last weeks. There’s no justification for these massacres,” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell wrote on X.
Iran condemned a “barbaric” Israeli air strike, calling it a “war crime”.
The attack showed once again that Israel “does not respect any of the rules and regulations of international law and moral and human principles,” foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani said in a statement.
He said the strike was “a clear example of the simultaneous perpetration of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity” by Israel.
Kanani called for “firm action by Muslim and freedom-loving countries around the world to support the Palestinian nation and its legitimate struggles and resistance against the occupation.”
The White House said it was “deeply concerned” about civilian casualties after an Israeli airstrike on a Gaza school housing displaced Palestinians that rescuers said killed more than 90 people.
“We are deeply concerned about reports of civilian casualties in Gaza” following the strike, National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement.
“We are in touch with our Israeli counterparts, who have said they targeted senior Hamas officials, and we are asking for further details,” Savett said.
With AFP
