Israeli school strike in Gaza results in 30 fatalities and dozens of injuries amid escalating tensions

An Israeli airstrike that targeted the Hassan Salame school in Gaza, which was being utilized as refuge, left thirty people dead and several others injured.

According to the Palestinian emergency response agency and local news sources, an Israeli airstrike on Sunday attacked a school in Gaza City that was being used as a refuge, killing at least thirty people and wounding several others.

This attack is the third that has targeted educational institutions in the previous four days. An F-16 fighter jet struck the school, identified as Hassan Salame, resulting in significant damage.

The majority of the victims, according to Palestinian Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal, were women and children. At least fourteen people are still buried beneath the debris.

In addition, Nasser, a nearby school that was also being utilized as a refuge, was damaged by shrapnel and rubble.

The number of deaths was initially reported to be 25, but it has subsequently increased to 30. It’s yet unknown if any of the deceased were militants.

According to the Israeli military, the airstrike was directed at “terrorists” who were housed in “Hamas command and control centers” that were part of the Nasser and Hassan Salame schools.

Before the attack, the military said it had used precise weapons and carried out reconnaissance, among other “numerous steps to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.” On the other hand, no precise information about these actions was given.

Amidst the debris, searchers and locals have been looking for survivors. Mr. Basal highlighted the attack’s toll on civilian casualties while expressing his frustration.

“A five-year-old child was dying right in front of me.” “How does that connect to October 7th?” he asked. “Kill the target of your murder while he is not around other people.”

Similar incidents over the past four days are echoed in Sunday’s attack. A strike on Saturday killed seventeen people at Hamama School, while another on Thursday killed fifteen at Dalal al-Mughrabi School. All four of the schools had been converted into makeshift homes with classrooms and halls serving as temporary lodgings for the displaced Gazans.

Videos posted on social media after each incident show the carnage, which includes blazing buildings, terrified screams, and still bodies.

Three months into his stay in Hassan Salame, 28-year-old Mohsen al-Jabareh gave this account of the strike: “We had just sat down to lunch when a deafening blast of smoke, dust, and fire enveloped us.”

As the conflict rages on, the situation in Gaza gets worse and worse, with more and more civilians losing their lives.