At least 16 Palestinians have been killed in an Israeli attack on a United Nations-run school sheltering displaced people in the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza Government Media Office. The attack on al-Jaouni school in central Gaza’s Nuseirat refugee camp also left more than 75 people injured.
The Nuseirat facility, managed by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), is the latest school to be bombed by the Israeli military since the Gaza conflict escalated in early October. The Gaza Government Media Office condemned the attack, stating, “We condemn the Israeli occupation [for] committing these ongoing crimes and massacres against civilians, children and women.”
Since October 7, Israeli attacks across Gaza have resulted in the deaths of at least 38,098 Palestinians, amidst severe shortages of essential supplies like food, water, and medicine. The situation in Gaza has grown increasingly dire as Israeli bombardments intensify.
Videos from the scene showed twisted metal and pools of blood amid the collapsed structure of the school. Footage from Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah depicted injured children and emergency workers scrambling to cover bodies brought into the medical complex.
The Israeli military claimed in a statement that its air force "struck several terrorists" in the area of al-Jaouni school. However, Al Jazeera’s Hind Khoudary reported that hundreds of Palestinian families had sought shelter at the school, believing it to be a safe zone as previously indicated by Israeli forces.
This incident follows a similar attack last month on another UN-linked school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, which killed at least 40 people and injured dozens more. Survivors, like 17-year-old Musab, have recounted harrowing experiences of being trapped under rubble and losing family members in these attacks.
The international community continues to watch the escalating conflict with increasing concern over the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.
