Over 30 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza on 27 July, according to Palestinian health officials. Located in the central town of Deir Al-Balah, Khadija School was housing displaced people – many of whom were children and women – when it was hit.
Officials reported that 15 children and eight women were among those killed, with more than 100 others wounded. Israel’s military stated that the airstrike targeted Hamas militants sheltering in the school and claimed steps were taken to minimize civilian casualties.
Footage recorded by Reuters showed Palestinians returning to the bombing site to check on their belongings, with fires still burning and debris scattered around.
Um Hasan Ali, a displaced woman sheltering at the school, told Reuters she had recently returned to Gaza from Egypt with her daughter after having received medical treatment. Her daughter was wounded once again in the strike and taken to the hospital.
The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) did not clarify if any Hamas members were eliminated from the airstrike.
The IDF had used this argument in previous airstrikes, often resulting in hundreds of Palestinians dying in comparison to little to no Hamas militants. Israel has accused Hamas of using Gaza’s civilians as human shields by operating within densely populated areas, including schools and hospitals, a claim Hamas denies.
Since the onset of Israel’s military operation in Gaza nine months ago, over 39,000 Palestinians have been killed, many of whom were women and children, in addition to injuring over 90,000 more.
Trusted medical journal, The Lancet, the true death toll could exceed 186,000 – accounting for around 8 percent of the besieged enclave’s population.
Despite Israel’s unrelenting and escalating violence the past week, ceasefire talks between the state and Hamas remain ongoing. Israeli citizens have taken to the streets several times, most recently on 27 July, protesting the Benjamin Netanyahu administration to end the war and finalize a hostage exchange agreement.
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