Presumably 93 dead!

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This school was hit by this unimaginable attack.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Omar AL-QATTAA)

According to Palestinian reports, 93 people were killed in a devastating Israeli attack on a school building in the Gaza Strip. Dozens more people were injured in the attack on the Koranic school, which was housing refugees, a spokesman for the Palestinian civil defense authority said on Saturday.

The Israeli army spoke of an attack on a "command and control center" of the radical Islamic terrorist organization Hamas. According to the Israeli army, at least 19 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters were killed in the attack on the school. Following an investigation by the intelligence services, it can be confirmed that "at least 19 terrorists (...) were eliminated", the army said in a statement on Saturday evening. It published the names and photos of the Islamist fighters allegedly killed. The army rejected claims by the civil defense authority that around 100 people were killed in the attack. The number was too high, the military said. "The attack was carried out with three accurate projectiles that cannot cause the damage reported." The target was not seriously damaged. The military presented aerial photographs and videos to prove this.

The fear of a dangerous escalation is spreading
Hamas, meanwhile, denounced a "dangerous escalation". The Koran school and the adjoining mosque are located in the Al-Sahaba neighborhood in the city of Gaza, according to Mahmoud Basal, spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Civil Defense Authority. Three Israeli rockets had hit the school. The attack took place during morning prayers. Eleven children and six women were among the dead.

At least ten schools have been targeted in recent weeks. There is no justification for these massacres

EU-Außenbeauftragter Josep Borrell

Bild: APA/AFP/JOHN THYS

The number of victims could not be independently verified, but if it is confirmed, it would be one of the most serious attacks in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas around ten months ago. According to Hamas, around 250 people were housed in the school, around half of them women and children.

Images from AFPTV showed a large complex with a courtyard in and in front of which rubble lay. Part of the building appeared to be a mosque, with the upper floor partially bombed out. Images showed people covered in blood and clouds of smoke rising from the rubble. The Israeli army, for its part, declared that it had "precisely hit Hamas terrorists operating in a Hamas command center in the Al-Tabaeen school". Numerous precautions had been taken to reduce the danger to civilians. In a statement, Hamas spoke of a "massacre" at the school. This "terrible crime represents a dangerous escalation", the Islamists continued.

There are currently international fears of a further escalation in the Middle East following the targeted killing of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran and a high-ranking Hezbollah leader in Lebanon. In both cases, Israel is said to have carried out the attacks. There are now fears that the Gaza war will spread with retaliatory strikes from Lebanon and Iran.

The woman in the middle had to identify a family member among the dead.

(Bild: APA/AFP/Omar AL-QATTAA)

Urging swift negotiations
The USA, Qatar and Egypt are therefore urging swift, further negotiations between Israel and Hamas in order to achieve a ceasefire and the release of the Israeli hostages in the Gaza Strip. The next round of talks should take place next week on August 15. The Jordanian Foreign Ministry has now stated that the timing of the attack on the school "is indicative of the Israeli government's attempts to block and thwart these efforts".

Hezbollah accused Israel of lying to and deceiving the public. "The speeches about a ceasefire and new dates for negotiations are nothing but lies and deception," the militia declared. Israel's "real choice is to kill and carry out massacres". The Palestinians have been subjected to the "most heinous massacre" for more than ten months, the militia, which is allied with Iran, said.

Qatar calls for urgent international investigation
Qatar called for an "urgent international investigation" into the incident. The Qatari Foreign Ministry demanded the dispatch of "independent UN investigators" to investigate the constant attacks by Israel on schools and other shelters for refugees. The UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories, Francesca Albanese, accused Israel of "genocide" against the Palestinians in the online service X.

US government expresses deep concern
The US government expressed "deep concern" about the reports of civilian casualties. "We are in contact with our Israeli interlocutors who have said that they have targeted senior Hamas officials, and we are asking for more details," a spokesperson for the National Security Council said.

"At least ten schools have been targeted in recent weeks. There is no justification for these massacres," wrote EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell on Platform X. "We are dismayed by the horrific total number of victims." More than 40,000 Palestinians have been killed since the war began in October, Borrell wrote. A ceasefire is the only way to end the killing of civilians and secure the release of hostages, he warned.

Just two days ago, the civil defense authority in the Gaza Strip declared that at least 18 people had been killed in Israeli attacks on two schools in Gaza. The Israeli army had also stated that the schools had been used as command centers by Hamas. Since the beginning of the war in the Gaza Strip, Israel has accused Hamas of using schools, hospitals and other civilian facilities for military purposes and abusing civilians as shields. Hamas denies this.

Ten months of war
The war has now been going on for more than ten months. It was triggered by the brutal major attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, in which fighters from Hamas and other militant Palestinian groups killed 1,198 people and took 251 people hostage in the Gaza Strip, according to Israeli reports. 111 hostages are still being held there, 39 of whom are officially dead.

In response to the attack, Israel has since taken massive military action in the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, which cannot be independently verified, at least 39,790 people have been killed.