An Israeli strike on a school converted into a shelter for displaced Palestinians in Gaza City has killed more than 100 people, including women and children, Palestinian officials said, with officials expecting the death toll to rise.
The Israeli military said its air force struck a “command and control center” that “served as a hideout for terrorists and Hamas commanders” at al-Tabin school on Saturday.
The army provided no evidence and said it had taken steps to reduce the risk of harming civilians, while dismissing the death toll provided by Palestinian officials as inaccurate.
Here are some reactions to the attack:
Hamas
“The massacre at al-Tabin school in the Daraj neighborhood in central Gaza City is a horrific crime that constitutes a dangerous escalation,” the movement that governs the Gaza Strip said.
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of the Palestinian group’s political bureau, said there were no gunmen at the school.
Hamas said in its statement that Israel’s allegations that the school was being used as the group’s command center are “excuses to target civilians, schools, hospitals and refugee tents, all of which are false pretexts and reveal lies to justify its crimes.”
“We call on our Arab and Islamic countries and the international community to assume their responsibilities and take urgent measures to end these massacres and the escalation of Zionist aggression against our defenseless people and citizens,” the statement said.
Ismail al-Thawabta, director general of the Gaza government’s Media Office, called on the international community and the UN Security Council “to pressure Israel to end this cascading bloodshed among our people, namely innocent women and children.”
Fatah
Fatah, the rival Palestinian faction that signed a “national unity” deal with Hamas last month, said the attack was a “bloody and heinous massacre” that represented “the height of terrorism and criminality.”
“Committing these massacres confirms without a shadow of a doubt his efforts to exterminate our people through a policy of cumulative killings and mass massacres that make living consciences tremble,” he said in a statement.
UNITED STATES
National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said in a statement that “far too many civilians continue to be killed and injured” and called for a cease-fire and a deal on the hostages.
Echoing Israel’s claims without providing evidence, Savett added: “We know that Hamas uses schools as places of assembly and operations, but we have also repeatedly and consistently stated that Israel must take steps to minimize harm to civilians.”
Iran
Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said the Israeli government’s goal was to thwart ceasefire negotiations and continue the war.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani said Israel had once again shown that it was not committed to international law, condemning the attack as genocide and a war crime.
He called on the UN Security Council to act immediately and said Israel’s actions in Gaza constituted a threat to international peace and security.
Qatar
The attack constitutes a “horrific massacre and a brutal crime against defenseless civilians,” the foreign ministry said.
She called for the establishment of an independent UN fact-finding mission to investigate attacks on shelters for displaced Palestinians in Gaza and demanded that the international community compel Israel to ensure their protection and respect international law.
Qatar, Egypt and the United States have called for a new round of ceasefire talks for Thursday, as fears grow of a wider conflict involving Iran and its Lebanese ally Hezbollah.
Qatar strongly condemns the bombing of a school in the Gaza Strip by the Israeli occupation#MOFAQQatar pic.twitter.com/jClSrg9j6k
— Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Qatar (@MofaQatar_EN) August 10, 2024
Egypt
The Foreign Ministry said Israel’s “deliberate killings” of unarmed Palestinians demonstrate its lack of political will to end the war in Gaza.
In a statement quoted by the official Middle East News Agency, she accused Israel of repeatedly committing “large-scale crimes” against “unarmed civilians” whenever an international initiative is launched for a ceasefire.
He said such attacks reflect “unprecedented disregard” for international law.
Jordan
The Israeli attack goes against “all humanitarian values” and is “an indication of the Israeli government’s attempt to block (peace) efforts and postpone them,” the Foreign Ministry said.
He added that “the absence of a decisive international position to contain the Israeli aggression and force it to respect international law and put an end to its aggression against Gaza” resulted in “murders, deaths and an unprecedented human catastrophe.”
Saudi Arabia
The Foreign Ministry said it denounced the attack in the “strongest terms” and stressed that the “mass killings” in the enclave “must stop.”
Gaza “is experiencing an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe due to continued violations of international law,” the ministry said.
Lebanon
The strike is clear evidence of the Israeli government’s disregard for international humanitarian law and its intention to prolong the war and expand its scope, the Foreign Ministry said.
He called on the international community to adopt a unified position and stressed that stopping the war in Gaza is necessary to prevent an escalation in the region.
Türkiye
“Israel has committed a new crime against humanity by massacring more than a hundred civilians who had taken refuge in a school,” the Foreign Ministry said.
In a statement, she also accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of wanting to “sabotage the ceasefire negotiations.”
UNRWA
Philippe Lazzarini, the executive director of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, called for an end to the “horrors unfolding before our eyes”.
“We cannot let the unbearable become the new normal,” he wrote on X.
“The more this happens, the more we lose our collective humanity,” he said, reiterating his call for an “immediate ceasefire.”
Another day of horror in #Gaza
Another school was hit and dozens of Palestinians were killed, including women, children and elderly people.Schools, UN facilities and civilian infrastructure are #NOTaTarget
🛑Parties to the conflict must not use schools and other…
– Philippe Lazzarini (@UNLazzarini) August 10, 2024
Organization of Islamic Cooperation
The strike is “an extension of the brutal massacres and genocide committed by the Israeli occupation for more than ten months in the Gaza Strip,” the OIC said.
It calls on the international community, in particular the UN Security Council, to compel Israel to respect its obligations as an occupying power under international law and to ensure the protection of the Palestinian people.
United Kingdom
Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was “appalled” by the Israeli military strike and the “tragic loss of life”.
He wrote on X: “Hamas must stop endangering civilians. Israel must comply with international humanitarian law,” and called for a ceasefire to “protect civilians, release all hostages and end restrictions on aid.”
France
France said it condemned the attack “in the strongest terms.”
“For several weeks, schools have been the target of numerous attacks, causing an intolerable number of civilian casualties,” the Israeli Foreign Ministry said. “Israel must respect international humanitarian law.”
European Union
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said he was “horrified” by the images of the attack, adding that at least 10 schools had been targeted in the past week.
“There is no justification for these massacres,” he said.
Horrified by images of a reception school in Gaza hit by an Israeli strike, with, according to some reports, dozens of Palestinian victims.
At least 10 schools have been targeted in recent weeks. There is no justification for these massacres.
We are appalled by the terrible overall death toll. 1/2
– Josep Borrell Fontelles (@JosepBorrellF) August 10, 2024
UN Rapporteur
Francesca Albanese, the UN special rapporteur on the occupied Palestinian territory, has condemned the world’s “indifference” to the massive bloodshed in Gaza.
“Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians, one neighborhood at a time, one hospital at a time, one school at a time, one refugee camp at a time, one ‘safe zone’ at a time. With American and European weapons,” Albanese wrote on X.
“May the Palestinians forgive us for our collective failure to protect them, respecting the most basic meaning of international law.”
Gaza: In the largest and most shameful concentration camp of the 21st century, Israel is genociding Palestinians one neighborhood at a time, one hospital at a time, one school at a time, one refugee camp at a time, one “safe zone” at a time. With the United States and Europe…
— Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur for the Occupied Palestinian Territory (@FranceskAlbs) August 10, 2024
Save the children
Tamer Kirolos, regional director of the UK-based charity, called it “the deadliest attack on a school since last October”.
“It’s devastating to see the toll this has taken, including so many children and people at school for dawn prayers,” Kirolos said, adding that “children make up about 40 percent of the population and those killed and injured since October” in the enclave.
“Civilians and children must be protected. An immediate and definitive ceasefire is the only possible way to achieve this.”
