93 people died in an Israeli bombing of a school in Gaza City on Saturday. According to the Civil Defense of the Gaza Strip, administered by Hamas, three missiles targeted two floors of the school and the mosque. Eleven children and six women were among the victims. “There are still unidentified body parts,” said the spokesman for the civil defense, Mahmoud Bassal, according to Le Monde. While the human toll cannot be verified independently, images from Agence France-Presse show rescuers picking up bodies in a destroyed building and families in tears.
The Israeli army assures of the precision of the strikes in a statement in which it states that “the complex and the mosque (…) served as military installations for Hamas and Islamic Jihad” and that the buildings were used to “perpetrate terrorist attacks.” “Following an intelligence investigation, it can be confirmed that at least nineteen Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists have been eliminated,” Israel assured, which also indicated that there was a “high probability” that Ashraf Judah, a senior member of Islamic Jihad, was present in the attack but without guaranteeing his death.
A “horrible crime” and a “dangerous escalation,” Hamas denounced.
This Israeli strike sparked an international outcry. “At least ten schools have been targeted in recent weeks. There is no justification for these massacres,” wrote the head of European diplomacy, Josep Borell, on the social network X. “Hamas must stop endangering civilians. Israel must comply with international humanitarian law,” declared the head of British diplomacy, David Lammy.
France, for its part, recalled in a statement “that respect for international humanitarian law” is also imposed on Israel.
After intervention by the United States, Egypt and Qatar, Israel agreed on August 8 to resume talks on a truce on August 15.
Assuring that it had asked Israel for “more details” on this strike, Washington said it had expressed its deep concern. “This shows the urgency of a ceasefire and an agreement on the hostages, for which we continue to work tirelessly.”
This article is originally published on zinfos974.com
