Israeli forces struck a school converted into a shelter for refugees in northern Gaza, killing at least seven people in a new attack targeting schools, a Palestinian Civil Defense spokesman said. Kafr Qasim school in Shati refugee camp west of Gaza City, which was sheltering hundreds of displaced people, was targeted by an Israeli airstrike, Mahmud Bassal said on Sunday.
Among the injured are “serious cases,” he added.
The attack on the school comes a day after 22 people, including 13 children and six women, were killed in a new Israeli airstrike on a school housing people displaced by the war in northern Gaza City.
The Israeli military claimed to have targeted Hamas fighters present at the compound, but provided no evidence for its claims.
The military said it had taken steps to reduce the risk of harm to “uninvolved persons,” including the use of precision weapons and intelligence information. The statement did not provide details on the deaths.
Israel has repeatedly targeted schools and other civilian infrastructure, claiming they were being used by Hamas fighters, but has rarely provided evidence for its claims.
Israel has long been accused of failing to take adequate measures to reduce the number of civilian deaths in the Gaza Strip, using 2,000-pound bombs in densely populated areas, hitting entire residential buildings and attacking tents in so-called “safe humanitarian zones” where civilians fleeing the fighting are supposed to seek refuge.
Activists say Israel has flagrantly violated international laws governing war and made little distinction between civilians and armed combatants. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has requested arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes. The Hague-based court has also requested an arrest warrant for two Hamas leaders.
Seven other Palestinians were killed in airstrikes in central and southern Gaza, the Palestinian Red Crescent said, quoted by the Wafa news agency. Two others were killed in Khuza’a, east of Khan Younis, after being targeted by artillery shells. Another Palestinian was killed when an Israeli quadcopter opened fire on civilians west of the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza.
“We want the war to stop”
Meanwhile, living conditions for survivors continue to deteriorate. Images and footage from the south of the enclave show dilapidated tents and makeshift shelters flooded by rainwater overnight.
“Ten minutes of rain were enough to sink the tents. What if it rains all day? The tents are already worn out and can’t stand the winter,” Aya, who is displaced with her family in the central city of Deir el-Balah, told Reuters news agency. “We don’t want new tents. We want the war to stop. We don’t want temporary solutions in hell,” the 30-year-old added.
Adding to the misery, Gaza’s health ministry warned that electricity generators at all health facilities in the enclave could be forced to stop working within 10 days due to a lack of fuel, filters and spare parts.
He said in a statement posted on Telegram that this poses a great danger to the lives of patients in the facilities, especially in sensitive departments such as operations, intensive care and nurseries.
The ministry called on “all relevant international and humanitarian institutions to intervene quickly” to keep the generators running.
Juliette Touma, communications director for UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, said more shelter and supplies are needed to help people cope with the coming winter.
“With the rain and the drop in temperatures, people are at risk of getting sick, especially children who are most vulnerable to colds and flu,” Touma said.
Most of Gaza’s 2.4 million Palestinians have been displaced since Israel launched a war on the Gaza Strip on October 7. The Israeli military offensive came after Hamas and Palestinian factions launched an attack into Israel that resulted in the deaths of more than 1,100 civilians and the capture of about 250 people.
Israeli forces have killed more than 41,000 Palestinians and reduced large areas of the besieged enclave to rubble during the past 11 months of relentless bombardment.