At least 93 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli attack on a school and mosque in Gaza housing displaced people, according to local officials.
Gaza Civil Defense said people were performing dawn prayers at the Al-Tabi’in compound in the Al-Daraj neighborhood in eastern Gaza City when the site was hit on Saturday night (10).
“We have recovered at least 90 people who were killed,” spokesman Mahmoud Basal told CNN adding that “many of them are torn apart, many have not yet been identified.”
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed to the broadcaster that it had struck the school, saying its air force “precisely targeted Hamas terrorists operating inside a Hamas command and control center embedded” in the building.
The military also said that before the airstrike, “several measures were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of precision munitions, aerial surveillance and intelligence.”
After the CNN asked the IDF for evidence to support its claim that the compound housed a command and control center, it said it had information saying that around 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters operated out of the building.
The IDF also disputed the death toll given by Gaza authorities. CNN cannot independently verify the numbers.
Saturday’s attack is the fifth on a school in Gaza by the Israeli army since last Sunday (4).
The UN Human Rights Office said earlier this week that it was “horrified by the unfolding pattern” of attacks on schools in Gaza, according to a statement on August 5, adding that “such attacks are increasing.”
Israeli military action in Gaza has killed nearly 40,000 Palestinians and injured more than 90,000, according to the Gaza Health Ministry. In early July, almost 2 million people were displaced in the enclave – almost its entire population, according to United Nations figures.
Israel launched the military offensive on October 7 after the militant group Hamas attacked the country’s south. At least 1,200 people were killed, and more than 250 others were kidnapped in the Hamas-led attack, according to Israeli officials.
Basal said many of the dead were yet to be identified and others transferred to hospital were seriously injured.
“There are still large amounts of body parts and mangled bodies inside Al-Ahli hospital,” he said. “Families are having difficulty identifying their children.”
A woman, known as Um Ahmed, told CNN who was unable to find her husband after the attack. “I went to look for my husband and I didn’t see anyone, they were all in pieces,” she said.
Saturday’s attack follows similar deadly offensives carried out by Israel last week.
Air strikes against several school buildings sheltering displaced Palestinians last weekend killed at least 47 people, including many children, and injured dozens more.
Videos obtained by CNN Footage from last Sunday’s attack — which the IDF also said targeted Hamas infrastructure — shows extensive destruction and dead bodies in a schoolyard. In the videos, medics and first responders carry injured children to waiting ambulances.
Palestinian officials said Israel gave no warning to civilians before the airstrikes took place.
Source: CNN Brasil
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