In a report released on the social platform X, the German Foreign Ministry condemned the ongoing Israeli military attacks on civilian shelters in Gaza as “horrifying” and “unacceptable.”
The ministry highlighted the plight of women, men, and children seeking refuge from months of conflict, urging that attacks on schools must cease immediately and that the circumstances behind these attacks be swiftly investigated.
The statement emphasized the severe suffering faced by civilians in Gaza, who have been repeatedly displaced by the fighting. The German government called for an end to the use of these civilians as human shields by Hamas.
Furthermore, the ministry endorsed the urgent need for a humanitarian ceasefire proposed by the United States, Egypt, and Qatar, calling for the release of hostages to alleviate the region’s suffering.
Palestinian sources reported that an Israeli attack early Saturday morning on a school building, currently used as a refugee shelter, resulted in the deaths of dozens. Gaza’s civil protection services estimate at least 93 fatalities.
In contrast, the Israeli military expressed skepticism about these casualty figures, stating that the school building was targeted because it served as a command center for Hamas, claiming the operation killed at least 19 Hamas and Jihad commanders and fighters.
Francesca Albanese, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories, has accused Israel of “genocide” following an airstrike on a school sheltering displaced persons in Gaza, which resulted in the deaths of around 100 people on Saturday.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, Albanese, an Italian national, wrote: “Israel has committed genocide against the Palestinians, one neighborhood after another, one hospital after another, one school after another, one refugee camp after another, and one safe zone after another.”
The death toll from the Israeli strike on the school in Gaza City, initially reported at 40, has risen to between 90 and 100, according to Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense.
