At least 29 people were killed in an attack on a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza on Tuesday, Palestinian sources said, the fourth such attack in four days. Hamas has blamed Israel for the deaths.
The Israeli military told AFP it had struck the area and was reviewing the incident. It has acknowledged three other attacks since Saturday on Gaza schools used as shelters.
A source at Nasser Hospital in the nearby southern town of Khan Younis said the attack occurred at the entrance of the al-Awda school in Abasan, where the victims were taken. He said 29 people were killed and dozens wounded.
The Hamas-run state media office accused Israel of carrying out a “horrific massacre” and put the death toll at 29, saying “the majority” were women and children.
“We were sitting at the entrance of the school… Suddenly and without any warning, rockets were fired,” Mohammed Sukkar, an eyewitness, told AFP about Tuesday’s attack.
The Israeli military said the air force had used “precision munitions” to attack “terrorists from Hamas’ military wing” near the school.
“The incident is under review,” the Army said in a statement.
Officials in the Hamas-ruled area said at least 20 people were killed in the first attacks on schools.
Israel said that all three attacks were carried out targeting terrorists hiding in schools.
An Israeli attack on the UN-run al-Jawani school in Nuseirat in central Gaza on Saturday killed 16 people, according to the Health Ministry.
The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, said 2,000 people were taking shelter there at the time.
The next day, four people were killed in an attack on the Holy Family School in Gaza City, according to Gaza’s Civil Defense Agency.
The Latin Patriarchate, which owns the school, said hundreds of people were on the premises at the time.
On Monday, another UNRWA-run school was attacked in Nuseirat. A local hospital said several people were taken to hospital for treatment.
Israel said it had targeted “several terrorists” using the school.
Hamas denies Israel’s claim that it uses schools, hospitals and other civilian facilities for military purposes.
According to UNRWA, more than 500 people have been killed in schools and universities.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
