At least 90 people killed in Israeli airstrike on Gaza school, local officials say
Footage filmed at the school shows the destruction caused by the Israeli airstrike
Warning: This report contains details some people may find distressing.
At least 90 people have been killed and dozens injured after an Israeli airstrike hit a school-turned-shelter in Gaza City early on Saturday, according to Palestinian health authorities.
“We recovered at least 90 people who had been killed,” spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told CNN, adding that “many of them are torn apart, many are still unidentified.”
The Tabeen school in central Gaza City was being used as a shelter for people who have been forced to flee their homes because of the attacks.
The Israeli military has acknowledged the strike claiming that it hit a Hamas command centre within the school.
The attack is believed to be one of the deadliest in the 10 months since October 7.
The UN human rights office said the strike was the latest in a "systematic attacks on schools."
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Hala, an ActionAid staff member based in Gaza, said: "We cannot let this kind of atrocity become normalised. The world must not become numb to the horror that we in Gaza are having to live through every single day - this nightmare has to end.”
Rohan Talbot, Medical Aid for Palestinians' Director of Advocacy and Campaigns, said that again and again, Israel "has subjected desperate and displaced Palestinians to indiscriminate bombardment and unthinkable violence while they seek shelter and protection".
He added that the UK could do more to bring about a ceasefire."Further statements of concern or condemnation from the UK government will not be enough - civilians in Gaza need decisive and immediate action to prevent further horrors and bring this humanitarian catastrophe to an end."
Health officials said 47 people were wounded, with some suffering severe burns and others needing to have limbs amputated.
Foreign Minister David Lammy said he was "appalled" by the loss of the life.
He said: "Hamas must stop endangering civilians. Israel must comply with International Humanitarian Law."We need an immediate ceasefire to protect civilians, free all hostages, and end restrictions on aid."
Israeli intelligence indicated that about 20 militants from Hamas and Islamic Jihad, including senior commanders, were using the Tabeen school compound to plan attacks on Israeli forces, Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, an Israeli military spokesman, said in a statement on X.
Saturday’s strike is the fifth on a school in Gaza by the Israeli military since last Sunday, according to CNN.
According to the United Nations, 477 out of 564 schools in Gaza have been directly hit or damaged in the war as of July 6.
In June, an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza killed at least 33 people, including 12 women and children, according to local health officials.
The latest strike comes as American, Qatari and Egyptian mediators are renewing their push for a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
On October 7 Hamas terrorists crossed the border from Gaza to Israel, killing more than 1,400 individuals and taking over 200 hostages in the process.
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