Israel confirmed the airstrike on what it said was a Hamas command centre “embedded” inside a mosque on the school grounds on Saturday morning.
Palestinian authorities, who had been using the school as a shelter, said 40 people were killed in the airstrike. BloombergThe IDF said intelligence confirmed that the strikes had eliminated “at least 19 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists,” and stressed that “numerous measures had been taken before the attack to mitigate the risk of harm to civilians.”
“These terrorists were operating from the compound to carry out attacks against IDF soldiers and the State of Israel,” the IDF said in a statement. statement Regarding X: “The attack was carried out using three precision bullets, but expert analysis indicates that it will not have caused as much damage as reported by the Government Intelligence Agency, run by Hamas in Gaza. Moreover, no serious damage was caused to the facilities where the terrorists were located.”
The White House is “deeply concerned by reports of civilian casualties from the attack,” National Security Council spokesman Sean Savett said. said In a statement on Saturday. (RELATED: Kamala Harris' team rushes to downplay claim she's open to discussing arms embargo on Israel)
“We are in contact with our Israeli counterparts, who say they have targeted Hamas officials, and are requesting further details,” Thabet said. “We know that Hamas uses schools as places of rallying and activity, but we have repeatedly and consistently maintained that Israel must take measures to minimize civilian casualties.”
“This attack underscores the urgency of a ceasefire and hostage agreement,” Sabet said.
Today, the Israel Defense Forces and Islamic Jihad forces struck terrorists operating from a Hamas command and control center located inside the mosque at Al-Tabain School. Intelligence has now determined that at least 19 Hamas and Islamic Jihad members are… pic.twitter.com/97fw1Q9cHy
— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 10, 2024
Local residents say the area is one of the few remaining in Gaza City that was not destroyed and that the school is being used as housing by Palestinians displaced by the war. According to To the Wall Street Journal.
“They targeted the mosque and the first floor,” Amro Selim, 22, who lives next to the school, told the Journal. “There were bodies piled up and body parts scattered everywhere, mostly children and women.”
Fadel Naeem, director of Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, said: said The Associated Press said the hospital “received some of the most seriously wounded it has encountered during the war.” Another witness, Abu Anas, told the AP that the attack happened as people were praying before sunrise.
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