At least 30 people have reportedly died in Israeli air strikes on two schools in Gaza, according to Palestinian rescuers and news outlets. Some of the victims were displaced people seeking shelter at the schools, the rescuers said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the strikes, stating they targeted Hamas “command and control centres” located in two schools in Gaza City. This marks the third time in a week that schools in Gaza have been hit by Israeli strikes.
The IDF explained that the schools were used by Hamas’s al-Furqan Battalion as hiding places for its fighters and as command centres for planning and executing attacks against IDF troops and Israel.
Footage on social media appeared to show bodies inside one of the schools as rescuers evacuated casualties, including children. Palestinian media reported that at least 30 people were killed in the strikes. According to report most of the dead were women and children and more people are believed to be buried under the rubble.
The attack on the al-Nasr and Hassan Salama schools occurred on the same day as an attack on a camp for displaced people at a hospital in central Gaza, which reportedly killed at least five people.
The IDF claims it tries to minimise civilian casualties during its strikes, but the Palestinian Civil Defence described Sunday’s attacks as “a massacre.”
The Israel-Gaza conflict began on October 7, when Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 others back to Gaza as hostages. This attack triggered a massive Israeli military response, which has killed at least 39,480 Palestinians in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
Read More: Over 16,000 Palestinian Children Killed by Israel in Gaza War Since October
