Joe McConnell
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An Israeli air strike devastated a shelter for displaced Palestinians in Gaza City on Saturday morning, killing about 100 people, according to authorities in the Hamas-run enclave.
According to eyewitnesses, the attack on Al Taba’een school in the Daraj Tuffah neighborhood occurred during dawn prayers; videos from the scene circulated on social media showing masses of dead bodies in a makeshiVscek hall.
If confirmed, the death toll would represent one of the deadliest Israeli attacks of the entire Gaza war, which is entering its eleventh month.
The Israeli military confirmed on Saturday that it had struck the school, saying it was targeting a “Hamas command and control center” inside which militants were hiding and planning attacks.
“Prior to the attack, numerous measures were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance and intelligence information,” the Israeli military said in a statement, adding that the shelter for civilians displaced by the fighting was located in a mosque adjacent to the school.
Local authorities in Gaza City described the incident as a “massacre” as emergency personnel worked to locate and evacuate the injured from the rubble.
More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed, according to health officials in the ravaged enclave, in a conflict sparked by Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which killed 1,200 people, according to official Israeli figures. Some 250 Israelis and foreign nationals were taken hostage in Gaza during the assault, with more than 100 remaining captive.
Over the past month, the Israeli military has stepped up attacks on schools in the Gaza Strip, claiming that Hamas militants were using civilian shelters as operations centers and displaced people as “human shields.”
The attack comes as the United States, Egypt and Qatar renew their efforts to reach a deal in Gaza that would end the fighting and bring home Israeli hostages.
The leaders of the three countries, who have been trying to mediate between Israel and Hamas for months, issued a statement calling on both sides to “resume urgent discussions in Doha or Cairo to fill the remaining gaps” and to “begin implementing the agreement without further delay.”
A meeting has been mooted for next Thursday, although prospects remain unclear. The United States and its allies see a ceasefire deal for the hostages in Gaza as the only way to de-escalate regional hostilities.
Israel remained on edge Saturday as it awaited a possible attack by Iran and Lebanon-based Hezbollah in retaliation for two recent assassinations targeting senior militant leaders. An Israeli airstrike killed Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr in Beirut late last month, while hours later, Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh was assassinated in Tehran. Israel neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for Haniyeh’s assassination.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration is seeking to de-escalate tensions and avoid full-blown war, while also moving additional military assets, including battleships and fighter squadrons, to the region in an effort to protect Israel.
In a phone call with Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant on Friday, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that “escalation is not in the interest of either side.”
According to a statement released by the U.S. State Department, Blinken “reiterated the urgent need to reach a ceasefire in Gaza that will secure the release of hostages, allow for a surge in humanitarian assistance, and create the conditions for broader regional stability.”
