11 Children Among 93 Killed In Israeli Strike On School Sheltering Displaced Palestinians, Gaza Officials Say

Gaza Civil Defence rescuers said that three strikes hit Al-Tabieen religious school in Gaza while people were performing dawn prayers.

At least 93 Palestinians, including 11 children, were killed in an Israeli strike on a religious school in Gaza. (Image used for representational purpose)

Source : Getty

At least 93 Palestinians, including 11 children, were killed on Saturday in an Israeli air strike on a religious school housing displaced people, as Israeli's military accused militants of building a base there. Gaza Civil Defence rescuers said that three strikes hit Al-Tabieen religious school in Gaza while people were performing dawn prayers.

"We recovered at least 90 people who had been killed," Gaza Civil Defense Spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told CNN, adding that "many of them are torn apart, many are still unidentified." "It reminds us of the first days of the war in the Gaza Strip," he added.

Basal also said during a press conference that 11 children and six women were among those killed at the school shelter, adding that "there are many unidentified body parts."

Hamas denounced the "dangerous escalation" in north Gaza, while Jordan's foreign ministry stated that the timing of the attack showcased Israel's efforts to "obstruct and thwart" the peace deal.

The attack came after the international mediators invited Israel and Gaza to resume peace talks coming Thursday to attain a long-sought ceasefire and hostage-release deal.

Following the attack, one of the mediators, Qatar, called for an "urgent international investigation" into the Israeli strikes on school shelters.

The attack appears to be one of the largest from a single strike in the 10-month war between Israel and Hamas Palestinian militants, news agency AFP reported, adding that it could not verify the toll independently.

The October 7 attack by Hamas on southern Israel has left nearly 2.4 million people of Gaza displaced since the war began. Many have sought refuge in school buildings, which as per AFP's tally, has been hit at least 14 times since July 6.

"Those who were inside the mosque were all killed. Even the floor above, where women and children were sleeping, was completely burned," local resident Abu Wassim said.

'Precisely Struck Hamas Terrorists Operating In Control Centre In Al-Tabieen School': Israel

Israeli military stated that it took "numerous steps" to mitigate risks as it "precisely struck Hamas terrorists operating within a Hamas command and control centre embedded in the Al-Tabieen school".

Israel has repeatedly made similar accusations after striking school shelters in the past. However, Hamas has previously denied using schools, hospitals, and other civilian facilities for military purposes.

The strike left several dead and wounded strewn across the two-storey complex's ground floor, where debris lay inside and out, AFPTV images showed.

The upper floor of the building was also partially blown out and charred. The images after the strike showed white-shrouded bodies, smoke rising from the rubble, and blood stains on the ground. 

In a post on X, Israeli military spokesperson Lieutenant-Colonel Nadav Shoshani claimed that intelligence indicated "approximately 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, including senior commanders, were operating from the compound."

Stressing the need to "stop the mass massacres" in Gaza, Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry expressed "condemnation in the strongest terms" afer the recent attack.

The United Nations special rapporteur on the rights situation in Palestinian territories, Francesca Albanese, accused Israel of "genociding" Palestinians, AFP reported. Israel had however previously denounced her for presenting an "obscene inversion of reality".

Decrying a "new crime against humanity" Turkey claimed Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu wanted "to sabotage ceasefire negotiations".

As Iran and Hamas accused Israel of wanting to spread war in the Middle East in a bid to prolong the fighting, Netanyahu's office on Thursday stated that Israel would send negotiators "to conclude the details of implementing a deal".

Ever since the killing of Hamas's political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and Hezbollah's Fuad Shukr, the tensions in the Middle East have escalated with rising fears of a broader war. While Iran and Hamas have blamed Israel for Haniyeh's death, Israel has neither taken responsibility nor commented on it.

Hamas's attack last year resulted in the deaths of 1,198 people in Israel and 251 others were taken hostage. Out of these 111 are still held hostage in Gaza, which includes 39 who the Israeli military claim are dead.

In retaliation, Israel's has killed at least 39,790 people in its military campaign in Gaza,  according to Gaza's health ministry.