A day after Israel struck an ambulance convoy carrying seriously injured patients from al-Shifa hospital to the Rafah border crossing, the Israeli army intensified its bombardments on the Gaza Strip, hitting schools, mosques and other hospitals.
On Saturday morning, an Israeli aerial missile struck the al-Fakhoora school run by the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency (UNRWA) in the Jabalia refugee camp, killing at least 15 people and injuring 54, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
“The number (of deaths) is expected to increase,” said Muhammad Abu Silmeyeh, director of Al-Shifa Hospital.
Thousands of people displaced by Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip have found shelter at al-Fakhoora school.
A witness to the attack, who lost family members in the attack, told Al Jazeera that four members of his family were killed or injured.
“We have nothing to do with anything related to the Hamas movement. The room contained only children and women,” the witness added.
The attack on the school is the third major attack on the Jabalia camp.
The attack came hours after a deadly strike on the Osama bin Zaid school housing displaced families in the al-Saftawi area, north of Gaza City, killing at least 20 people, according to local media.
On Saturday morning, the entrance to al-Nasser Children’s Hospital in western Gaza City was also attacked, with several local media reporting civilian casualties.
The Health Ministry spokesperson said that around 2,200 people, including 1,250 children, are currently buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza.
Solar generators and panels
Israeli forces also attacked electricity generators and solar panels at al-Wafa hospital in Gaza City, according to local media.
An Anadolu Agency correspondent reported that the attack caused a major fire in the hospital courtyard, which was finally brought under control by civil protection teams after several hours.
This attack on the hospital comes a day after the Israeli army attacked the entrance to al-Shifa Hospital and the areas surrounding al-Quds Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital.
According to journalist Hani Mahmoud in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, Israeli air attacks also hit residential homes equipped with solar panels.
“This seems to be the final nail in the coffin,” he told Al Jazeera.
“What the Israeli army wants people to do is leave. The last source that keeps them in Gaza is the little electricity they receive from solar panels,” he said.
Meanwhile, a water reservoir in eastern Rafah was also destroyed. “It seems to be another way of telling people, ‘We’re going to bomb everything you depend on for survival,'” he added.
Gaza-based Al-Aqsa TV reported that the public water reservoir was being used to supply several neighborhoods.
Separately, an Anadolu correspondent reported that the Israeli army bombed two mosques – the Ali bin Abi Talib Mosque and the Al-Istijabah Mosque – in the al-Sabra neighborhood, also in southern Gaza.
Tamer Qarmout, assistant professor of public policy at the Doha Institute of Advanced Studies, told Al Jazeera that this is part of Israel’s war strategy.
“There is talk in the Israeli media that the Israeli army will enter the second phase of its operations in Gaza starting next week. This means tactical ground operations inside Gaza. So what Israel wants to do before that is for all civilians to go south,” he said.
“So what they (the Israeli army) are doing is depriving civilians stuck in northern Gaza of any means of subsistence. They therefore hit water tanks, civilian installations, hospitals and even UNRWA schools where people are taking refuge. Soon people will have no choice but to move south,” Qarmout added.
He noted that although the Israeli army had ordered civilians in Gaza to temporarily move south since the start of its operation in the besieged strip, many people remained for security reasons amid ongoing bombardments. continuous attacks by the Israeli army throughout the enclave.
“People tried to flee south but the road was bombed. How can they feel safe if there is no humanitarian corridor to go south? » said Qarmout.
The Israeli military said residents in the northern Gaza Strip would be allowed to use Salah al-Din Street, Gaza’s main road, to evacuate to the south between 11:00 GMT and 14:00 GMT on Saturday.
But according to Qarmout, Israel has a history of not keeping its promises when it comes to war.
“What guarantees are there that Israel will still not bomb as it flees south? There is no international guarantor like the UN to monitor and guarantee that people will not be attacked,” he said. “Let’s say that the Red Cross is entrusted with this mandate. People will then be reassured and feel safe.