An Israeli attack on a UN-run school housing displaced families in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza on Tuesday (16) killed 23 people and injured 73 others.
The strike left the school partially destroyed, with rubble covering the courtyard and classrooms used as shelters by displaced Palestinians.
“These were civilians who were killed. These were children who were torn apart in the attack, there is nothing left of them,” shouted one man as he showed Middle East Eye a white tarpaulin on which body parts were being collected.
Among the dead was local journalist Mohammad Meshmesh, bringing the number of journalists killed in the conflict to 160, the government media office in Gaza said.
The school strike left people in a state of shock as they watched rescuers pull bodies from the rubble, Nuseirat resident Riyad Abu Shanab told MEE.
“Look around you. You can see body parts scattered around,” Abu Shanab said.
“I could have been one of the victims. I had just gone to the bathroom to wash my hands when the attack hit, engulfing the area in fire. It was just a moment that separated me from death,” he added.
“This is an UNRWA school sheltering displaced people. They hit a school yesterday too. People are being killed in front of us and we have nowhere to go.”
Um Alaa Abu Daher was sitting with her daughter and niece in a ground-floor classroom when the missile hit someone nearby.
“Suddenly, there was nothing but fire and smoke outside. But this is not the first time we have found ourselves in this situation,” Abu Daher said.
His niece Maysara said that the school where the family was sheltering was also hit, injuring several relatives.
“Before this strike happened, I could hear the sound of children outside. After the strike, the sound of children disappeared,” Maysara said.
The Israeli military said “terrorists” were active in the area and that it was investigating reports of casualties.
Israeli strikes in the Gaza Strip killed at least 57 Palestinians on Tuesday, including 17 people who were killed in a strike near a tent area housing displaced people in the designated al-Mawasi humanitarian area in Khan Younis, southern Gaza.
The attack on al-Mawasi came after airstrikes killed at least 88 people and wounded 289 others on Saturday at a displacement camp in the same district.
More than 38,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war in Gaza since October, according to local officials. The majority of those killed are women and children.
Israel said Tuesday it had killed or wounded 14,000 Hamas members and eliminated half of the organization’s leadership.
Israel claimed Saturday’s al-Mawasi strike targeted Hamas military leader Mohammed Deif, although the Palestinian group denied he was affected.
Via News Agencies
Source: https://www.ocafezinho.com/2024/07/17/ataque-israelense-a-escola-de-nuseirat-mata-23-palestinos/
