Israeli attack on Gaza school building kills more than 70, hospital director says

An Israeli air strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City has killed more than 70 people, a hospital director has told the BBC.

Fadl Naeem, director of al-Ahli Hospital, which received many of the casualties, said these were the victims who had been identified so far, while the bodies of many other victims were so badly disfigured that they were difficult to identify.

An Israeli military spokesman said al-Taba’een school “used to be a military base for Hamas and Islamic Jihad”, something Hamas denies.

The attack has been criticized by Western powers as well as countries in the region, saying it shows Israel has no desire for a ceasefire or end to the war in Gaza.

Israel has attacked several such shelters in Gaza in recent weeks.

According to the United Nations, as of July 6, 477 of 564 school buildings in Gaza had been directly hit or damaged, with more than a dozen more schools targeted since then.

Al-Taba’een School is home to more than 1,000 people – it recently took in dozens of evacuees from the town of Beit Hanoun, after the Israeli army ordered them to leave their homes.

Witnesses said the building was also a mosque and the Israeli airstrike occurred during dawn prayers.

Jaafar Taha, a student who lives near the school, told the BBC that the bomb was followed by screaming and noise.

“‘Save us, save us,’ they shouted,” he said.

“The scene was horrific. Body parts were everywhere and blood covered the walls.”

Salim Oweis, a spokesman for the UN children’s agency Unicef, told the BBC the attack was “truly senseless”.

“All those schools were packed with people, children, mothers and families, who had to take shelter in any open space, whether it was a school or a mosque, whatever it was, even in the hospital yard.”

The Israeli military said it had “precisely targeted Hamas terrorists operating in a Hamas command and control center located in al-Taba’een school”.

In a statement, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani said “based on Israeli intelligence, approximately 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, including senior commanders, were operating from the attacked complex at al-Tabaeen school, using the site to carry out terrorist attacks.”

A later statement by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency said “at least 19 Hamas and Islamic Jihad terrorists” were “eliminated” in the attack.

Earlier estimates of the death toll also ran into the dozens, with the Hamas-run health ministry ambulance service saying more than 60 people had died. The civil defense agency put the figure at more than 90, according to the AP.

The BBC could not independently verify the figures from either side.

The Israeli spokesman said the casualty figures released by Hamas officials “do not match the information held by the IDF, the exact type of ammunition used and the accuracy of the airstrikes”.

Hamas described the attack as a “horrific crime and a dangerous escalation” in Israel’s “genocidal war against the Palestinian people”.

Fatah, Hamas’s Palestinian political rival in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, said Israel’s goal was to “exterminate the Palestinian people through a policy of mass murder”.

The United States said it was “very concerned” about reports of civilian casualties and was seeking further details.

“We know that Hamas has used schools as venues for gatherings and activities,” a spokesman for the US National Security Council said.

“But we have also repeatedly and consistently stated that Israel must take measures to minimize harm to civilians.”

“Too many civilians continue to be killed and injured,” he said, adding that this “highlights the urgency of a ceasefire and a hostage rescue agreement”.

“It is time for the horrors that are taking place under our watch to end,” said Philippe Lazzarini, head of Unrwa, the UN agency assisting Palestinians.

The French foreign ministry said it condemned the attack “in the strongest terms”.

“For weeks, school buildings have been repeatedly targeted, resulting in unacceptable civilian casualties,” the report said.

“Israel must respect international humanitarian law,” the statement added.

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy said he was “appalled” by the “tragic casualties” and stressed the need for an “immediate ceasefire”.

The attack has once again drawn attention to the controversial developments in the war in Gaza.

Israel claims that Hamas is using civilian infrastructure to plan and carry out attacks, and that is why they target hospitals and schools – sites protected under international law.

Hamas has consistently denied these allegations.

In any case, these are places where Gazans displaced by conflict have sought shelter – particularly in schools, more than 80% of which have been directly attacked or damaged.

Since early July, Israel has struck at least 13 of those targets – including four in the space of four days – each time claiming it took measures to reduce the risk of harm to civilians, including the use of precision munitions.

Many schools were run by the United Nations before the war, and the United Nations strongly condemned the air strikes.

This appears to be a particularly dangerous incident. It will certainly increase pressure for a ceasefire, but the reaction from regional mediators suggests concern that it could slow down already struggling efforts to achieve one.

Egypt, one of the mediators, said Israel’s “targeted killings” of unarmed Palestinians showed Israel lacked the political will to end the war.

Qatar, which was also involved in the ceasefire talks, has called for an urgent international investigation.

Hamas-led gunmen killed some 1,200 people in an attack on Israel on October 7, taking 251 others back to Gaza as hostages.

That attack sparked a major Israeli military offensive on Gaza and the current war.

According to the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry, more than 39,790 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli campaign.

Additional reporting by Rushdi Abualouf, Gaza correspondent in Istanbul, Türkiye