An Israeli strike on a school in northern Gaza on Saturday killed at least 22 people, according to the Gaza health ministry, while the Israeli military said it targeted a Hamas command center in what was once a school.
Twenty-two people were killed Saturday in an Israeli strike on a school in northern Gaza, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. Thirty others were wounded in the strike.
The school, located in the Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza, was sheltering displaced people, the ministry said. Most of the victims were women and children, it added.
The Israeli military said Saturday it had struck Hamas’ command and control center, which was located in a compound that previously served as a school. It said measures had been taken to limit harm to civilians, including the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance.
Challenging Narratives of Hamas’ Use of Schools
Since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas, the Israeli army has struck a number of schoolshome to tens of thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes by Israeli offensives and evacuation orders. The conflict has displaced 90 percent of Gaza’s Palestinians, according to United Nations figures.
The army has repeatedly accused Hamas of operating from Gaza’s civilian infrastructure, including schools, UN offices and hospitals. The conflicting accounts go to the heart of a conflict that has lasted nearly a year.
Earlier this month, an Israeli strike hit a school in the Nuseirat According to Palestinian medical officials, 14 people died in Israeli airstrikes on a girls’ school in Deir al-Balah, killing at least 30 people who had sought refuge there.
Growing Frustration Among Israel’s Allies
Earlier this week, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations accused the Israeli military of striking schools, aid workers and civilians in Gaza, a sign of growing U.S. frustration with its close ally as the war approaches its first anniversary.
U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield spoke out unusually against the Israeli military at a U.N. Security Council meeting Monday, saying that many strikes in recent weeks that have injured or killed U.N. personnel and aid workers “could have been prevented.”
Many council members cited last week’s Israeli strike on a former school converted into a civilian shelter run by the U.N. agency that helps Palestinian refugees, known as the UNRWAin which six UNRWA employees were among at least 18 people killed, including women and children.
Israel said it targeted a Hamas command and control center in the compound, and Israel’s U.N. Ambassador Danny Danon said Monday that Hamas militants were killed in the attack. He named four militants, telling the council they worked for UNRWA during the day and for Hamas at night.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an independent investigation.
Thomas-Greenfield told Council members that the United States will continue to emphasize the need for Israel to facilitate humanitarian operations in the Palestinian territory and to protect humanitarian workers and facilities such as the UNRWA shelter.
