The civil defense in Gaza reported on Tuesday that 12 people were killed in an Israeli airstrike on the Mustafa Hafez School in western Gaza City, which was sheltering displaced individuals. The Israeli military stated that the school was being used as a command center by Hamas.
According to an updated statement from the civil defense, rescue teams recovered the bodies of 12 victims from the school following the strike by Israeli forces. Earlier, civil defense spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told AFP that the bodies of five men and two children were retrieved after an Israeli aircraft targeted the building’s second floor, which was sheltering thousands of displaced persons. The attack also left 15 people injured.
The Israeli army defended its actions by claiming that the school housed a Hamas command and control center, which was used to plan and carry out attacks against Israeli forces and the state of Israel.
This incident follows a pattern of recent Israeli strikes targeting several schools across Gaza, claimed by the army to be used as command centers by Hamas—a claim denied by the Palestinian movement. Earlier this month, an Israeli raid on the “Tabi’in” school resulted in 93 deaths, with the civil defense reporting 31 Hamas activists among the casualties.
Tens of thousands of displaced individuals have sought refuge in schools since the outbreak of the conflict, initiated by a Hamas attack that killed 1,199 people according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. During the same attack, 251 people were kidnapped, with 105 still held in Gaza, including 34 confirmed dead by the military.
In response, Israel has launched a devastating offensive on Gaza, resulting in at least 40,173 deaths, according to the Hamas-controlled health ministry.
