Palestinians control the grounds of a school after an Israeli airstrike hit the site in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on September 11, 2024, amid the ongoing war in the Palestinian territory between Israel and Hamas. | Photo credit: AFP
An Israeli airstrike on Wednesday (September 11, 2024) hit a central school in Gaza, with the Hamas-run territory’s Civil Protection Organization reporting 10 deaths in the facility-turned-displaced persons shelter, and the army saying it had targeted militants .
The vast majority of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million residents have been displaced at least once by the war, which was sparked by Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7, with many seeking safety in school buildings.
Israeli forces have attacked several such schools in recent months, saying Palestinian militants were operating there and hiding among displaced civilians, allegations denied by Hamas.
The Al-Jawni school in Nuseirat in central Gaza, which has been hit several times during the war, was hit again on Wednesday, Civil Defense Agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal said. AFP.
“There are ten martyrs, including women and children, in the Israeli bombardment of Al-Jawni school,” he said, while also reporting “a number” of wounded. AFP could not independently verify the toll.
The Israeli military said its air force had carried out “a precise strike against terrorists operating in a Hamas command and control center” on the school grounds, without commenting on its outcome or the identities of the targets.
The Hamas government’s media office said around 5,000 displaced people took shelter at the school, formerly run by the UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), when it was hit on Wednesday.
Al-Jawni has been hit at least five times in more than 11 months of war, Bassal said.
In July, at least sixteen people were killed in an Israeli airstrike that the army said targeted “terrorists.”
Israel’s military offensive since the October 7 attack has killed at least 41,084 people in Gaza, according to Israel’s Health Ministry. According to the UN rights office, most of the dead are women and children.
Hamas’ attack on southern Israel, which sparked the war, resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to one report. AFP The figure is based on official Israeli figures, which also include hostages killed in captivity.
Published – Sep 11, 2024 10:48 PM IST
