A Palestinian searches for casualties trapped under the rubble of a house hit by an Israeli strike in Gaza City on October 16, 2024. — Reuters
Two hospitals in Gaza reported that an Israeli air strike on a school that had been converted into a shelter for displaced Palestinians killed at least 14 people on Thursday, while the Israeli military claimed it had targeted militants. Ten bodies were transported to Kamal Adwan hospital and four to Al Awda hospital, according to the medical facilities. The fatalities occurred during an Israeli strike on the Abu Hussein school in northern Gaza's Jabalia, which has become a shelter. The Israeli military asserts it is conducting a broad offensive aimed at Hamas militants.
"A horrific massacre, most of the injured and wounded are lying on the ground at Kamal Adwan Hospital, and their condition is critical," said Fares Afana, a senior official at the ambulance and emergency service in north Gaza. "We are unable to manage these severe cases due to the shortage of medical supplies and specialized personnel, leading to an increase in the number of martyrs."
The Israeli military stated it had carried out a "precise strike" targeting militants from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad groups who had gathered at the school compound. "At the time of the strike, dozens of terrorists from the Hamas and Islamic Jihad organizations were present in the compound," the military said, identifying 12 Palestinian men it claimed were militants involved in rocket attacks against Israeli territory. Hamas later condemned the attack, calling the occupation's claims that the school was used for resistance purposes "mere lies." The group stated that this is a systematic policy of the enemy to justify its crime and the slaughter of innocent displaced people.
Large parts of Gaza have been ravaged by Israel's retaliatory assault on the territory following an attack by Hamas on October 7 last year. The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,206 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of official Israeli figures. Israel's retaliation has killed at least 42,438 people, the majority of whom were civilians, according to figures from the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory, which the UN considers reliable. Israel has been intensifying operations in the north of the besieged Palestinian territory, where the UN has warned that hundreds of thousands of people are trapped.
