June 6th 2024.
Early Thursday morning, an Israeli strike hit a school in the central Gaza Strip that had been converted into a shelter. The military claimed that the school was being used as a "Hamas compound" and that the strike killed at least 30 people, including five children, according to local health officials.
This attack came after the Israeli military announced new air and ground operations in central Gaza, and as an international medical group reported a sharp rise in casualties. It seems that this is a significant escalation of Israel's ongoing offensive, which began after an attack by Hamas on October 7.
The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al-Balah was one of the places hit by the strike, and it received at least 30 bodies from the school and six from another strike on a nearby home. Hospital records and an Associated Press reporter at the scene confirmed these numbers. However, Hamas-run media initially reported a higher death toll from the school strike.
According to the Israeli military, their fighter jets targeted the school, which was run by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA). They claimed that the school was being used as cover by Hamas and the Islamic Jihad for their operations. It is worth noting that UNRWA schools in Gaza have been functioning as shelters since the beginning of the war, as most of the population of 2.3 million Palestinians has been displaced.
The Israeli military stated that they took precautions to minimize harm to civilians before the strike, such as conducting aerial surveillance and gathering additional intelligence information. However, these efforts were not enough to prevent the loss of innocent lives.
The two strikes occurred in Nuseirat, one of several refugee camps in Gaza that were established after the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel. During that time, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians were forced to flee their homes, and these camps were set up to accommodate them.
This latest round of violence began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, killing 1,200 people and taking 250 others hostage. In response, Israel launched its offensive, which has resulted in the deaths of at least 36,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. It should be noted that this figure does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.
Last week, President Joe Biden outlined a phased cease-fire and hostage release plan, which the United States supports. However, Israel has stated that it will not end the war until Hamas is destroyed, while the militant group is demanding a lasting cease-fire and the complete withdrawal of Israeli forces.
On Wednesday, the Israeli military announced that their forces were operating "both above and below ground" in eastern parts of Deir al-Balah and the Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza. They began with airstrikes on militant infrastructure and then proceeded with a "targeted daylight operation" in these areas.
According to Doctors Without Borders, at least 70 bodies and 300 wounded people, mostly women and children, were taken to a hospital in central Gaza on Tuesday and Wednesday after a series of Israeli strikes. They also reported that the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital is struggling to treat the large number of patients, many of whom have severe injuries such as burns, shrapnel wounds, and fractures.
Gaza's health system has been on the brink of collapse for almost eight months due to the ongoing war. The Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital was already treating 700 patients before the latest strikes, and on Wednesday, one of their two electrical generators stopped working, putting the lives of ventilator patients and premature babies at risk.
Israel has been launching airstrikes throughout Gaza since the beginning of the war, and they have also carried out massive ground operations in Gaza City and Khan Younis, leaving both cities in ruins. Earlier this year, they waged a weeks-long offensive in Bureij and several other nearby refugee camps in central Gaza.
Last Friday, Israeli troops pulled out of the Jabaliya camp in northern Gaza after weeks of fighting that resulted in widespread destruction. So far, 360 bodies, mainly of women and children, have been recovered by first responders. However, Israeli forces are now operating in central parts of Rafah, the southernmost city in Gaza, which has led to over 1 million people fleeing towards central Gaza.
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