Ministry of Health in Gaza: An Israeli attack on a school killed 22 people

2024-09-21 22:00:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

An Israeli attack on a school in northern Gaza killed at least 22 people on September 21, according to the Gaza Ministry of Health. The Israeli military said it had targeted a command center of Hamas - the Palestinian group designated a terrorist organization by the US and the EU - in what used to be a school.

According to the ministry, 30 others were wounded in the attack on the school in the Zeitoun area of ??Gaza. Most of the victims were women and children. It is still not clear to which hospital the dead and injured were taken.

The Israeli military previously said it had hit "Hamas' command and control center, which was located inside a compound that previously served" as a school. They said they had taken measures to limit civilian harm, including the use of precision munitions and aerial surveillance.

Since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas, the Israeli army has struck several schools, filled with tens of thousands of Palestinians driven from their homes by Israeli offensives and evacuation orders. According to the United Nations, 90 percent of Palestinians in Gaza have been displaced.

The Israeli military has repeatedly accused Hamas of operating from within civilian infrastructure in Gaza, including schools, UN facilities and hospitals.

Earlier this month, an Israeli strike hit a school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing 14 people. The Israeli military said it was targeting Hamas militants who were planning attacks from inside the school.

In July, Israeli airstrikes hit a girls' school in Deir al-Balah, killing at least 30 people sheltering inside. The Israeli military said it had targeted a Hamas command center used to direct attacks and store "large quantities of weapons".

The war began when Hamas-led fighters killed around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, in an attack on October 7 in southern Israel. They kidnapped about 250 people and still hold about 100 hostages. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed at least 41,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza's Ministry of Health, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians.

Also on Saturday, Gaza's Health Ministry said five of its employees were killed and five others wounded by Israeli fire that hit the ministry's warehouses in the Musbah area in the south.

Tensions rose on Friday after an Israeli airstrike in a Beirut neighborhood in Lebanon killed dozens of people, including civilians and Ibrahim Akil, the head of Hezbollah's elite Radwan forces. Ahmed Wahbi, another senior commander in the group's military wing, was also killed.

The attack came hours after Hezbollah launched one of the heaviest bombardments of northern Israel in nearly a year of fighting. Israel's "Iron Dome" missile defense system managed to stop most of the missiles./ REL