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Al-Awda School massacre

Coordinates: 31°20′2″N 34°20′18″E / 31.33389°N 34.33833°E / 31.33389; 34.33833
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Al-Awda School massacre
Part of the Israel–Hamas war and attacks on schools during the Israeli invasion of Gaza
Al-Awda School is located in the Gaza Strip
Al-Awda School
Al-Awda School
Location within the Gaza Strip
LocationAbasan al-Kabira, Khan Yunis Governorate, Gaza Strip
Coordinates31°20′2″N 34°20′18″E / 31.33389°N 34.33833°E / 31.33389; 34.33833
DateJuly 9, 2024 (2024-07-09)
Attack type
Airstrike, massacre
Deaths31+ Palestinians[1]
Injured53+ Palestinians[2]
Perpetrator Israel Defense Forces

The al-Awda School massacre was an Israeli attack on a UNRWA-ran Palestinian school in Abasan al-Kabira near the city of Khan Yunis that was converted into a displacement shelter, occurring on 9 July 2024. At least 31 Palestinians were killed in the attack, most of whom were women and children, while over 53 were injured. Many of the victims were refugees from Rafah following Israel's Rafah offensive. The attack was the fourth attack on a Palestinian school conducted by the Israel Defense Forces over the prior four days.[2]

Background

On 6 July, UNRWA-ran al-Jawni school sheltering 2,000 refugees at the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza was targeted by an IDF raid which killed sixteen Palestinians.[3] On 7 July, the IDF targeted the Latin Patriarchate-owned Holy Family school located in Gaza City housing hundreds of refugees, killing four. On 8 July, IDF force struck a different Nuseirat UNRWA-run school in, causing several injuries requiring treatment in a local hospital.[2] Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, stated two-thirds of all UNRWA schools in Gaza had been hit since October 2023.[4]

Airstrike

Al Jazeera video of the Al-Awda School massacre
External video
video icon Video of the air strike and its aftermath taken by a football spectator who was filming the game. Contains graphic images of severe injury.[1]
video icon NBC News video on YouTube incorporating parts of the Al Jazeera footage and featuring comments from survivors

During the evening of 9 July 2024, Israeli Defense Forces conducted an airstrike that targeted a gate at the entrance of al-Awda School in Abasan al-Kabira, Khan Yunis Governorate.[2] A US-made GBU-39 small-diameter bomb, manufactured by Boeing, was used in the attack.[5] Several dozen were outside at the time of the attack, spectating a soccer game being played in a courtyard.[6] According to a witness, a warplane flew overhead and fired a missile at young men sitting at an internet cafe, after which "it was screams and body parts everywhere".[7] At least 19 deceased Palestinians from the airstrike were brought to nearby Nasser Hospital, in addition to 53 injured Palestinians.[2] Health officials stated the majority of casualties were women and children.[8] Weapons experts identified fragments from the strike as the 250-pound U.S.-made GBU-39 bombs.[9] Workers at the hospital expected the number of dead to increase.[10] The death toll had risen to 31 by the next day.[1]

A 14-year-old survivor of the attack stated, "I was walking, when suddenly I found myself flying... I saw all the wounded. Just body parts."[11] Another child survivor stated he was the only person in his family who survived the strike.[12]

Reactions

Hamas condemned the massacre and said in a statement: “The bombing of the school is an Israeli insistence on the war of extermination, and confirmation of the occupation’s continuation of the crimes of murder, without regard to the consequences of its crimes or the laws and treaties that were established to protect civilians in wars.” It further called upon “the Arab peoples and those it called the peoples of the free world to move in support of the Palestinian people, and it also called on the people of the West Bank to activate all tools of support to engage with Israel.” Hamas also called for “rage marches in all cities of the world to condemn the massacres and to demand an end to the ongoing war in the besieged Gaza strip".[13]

The Israeli Ministry of Defense claimed that the attack used "precision weapons" to target an area near the school where a Hamas fighter who took part in the October 7 attacks on Israel.[14] The ministry stated that it was investigating reports that Palestinian civilians were harmed in the attack.[15]

European Union Chief of Foreign Policy Josep Borrell strongly condemned the attack, lamenting the cost of the war to innocent civilians while calling for an immediate ceasefire agreement to free the reminding hostages and provide sufficient humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip.[16] Borrell stated, "We condemn any violation of international law: those responsible must be held accountable."[17] Discussing the spate of Israeli airstrikes on schools in mid-July 2024, the French foreign ministry stated, "We call for these strikes to be fully investigated... It is unacceptable that schools, especially those housing civilians displaced by the fighting, should be targeted".[18] The German Federal Foreign Office stated, "People seeking shelter in schools getting killed is unacceptable. The repeated attacks on schools by the Israeli army must stop and an investigation must come quickly."[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Tondo, Lorenzo (2024-07-10). "Israeli strike on Khan Younis shelter kills at least 31 amid surge in Gaza fighting". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2024-07-11.
  2. ^ a b c d e Najjar, Farah. "Gaza City 'uninhabitable' as UN experts blast Israeli 'starvation campaign'". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  3. ^ "Dozens killed in Gaza as Israel strikes fourth school in four days". France24. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  4. ^ "Deadly Israeli strike on school-turned-shelter in southern Gaza". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  5. ^ Goodwin, Allegra; Schmitz, Avery; Mezzofiore, Gianluca (2024-07-10). "US-made munitions used in deadly Israeli strike on school complex near Khan Younis, CNN analysis finds". CNN. Retrieved 2024-07-13.
  6. ^ Video shows the moment a deadly strike hits Al-Awda school in Gaza. YouTube (News). NBC News. July 10, 2024. Retrieved July 10, 2024.
  7. ^ Abdulrahim, Raja. "A deadly Israeli strike at a school turned shelter shatters a moment of cheer". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  8. ^ Al-Mughrabi, Nidal. "More than two dozen Gazans killed in Israeli strike". Reuters. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  9. ^ Abdulrahim, Raja; Fuller, Thomas. "Carnage at Gaza School Compound Adds to Mounting Death Toll at U.N. Buildings". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  10. ^ a b "Gaza: Israeli strike on camp next to school kills 25 - hospital". BBC. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  11. ^ Da Silva, Chantal. "Dozens killed as '4 schools in the last 4 days' struck in Gaza". NBC News. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  12. ^ "Israeli attack on school shelter kills dozens". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  13. ^ "حماس تدعو لمسيرات غضب بعد مجزرة الاحتلال في مدرسة تؤوي نازحين". الجزيرة نت (in Arabic). Retrieved 2024-07-09.
  14. ^ "Israeli strike kills dozens at school sheltering displaced Palestinians". YouTube. CBC News. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  15. ^ Najjar, Farah. "Gaza City 'uninhabitable' as UN experts blast Israeli 'starvation campaign'". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  16. ^ McCready, Alastair; Rowlands, Lyndal. "'Massacre': At least 29 killed as Israeli warplane hits another Gaza school". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 2024-07-10.
  17. ^ Stack, Liam; Patil, Anushka. "The Israeli military said it was 'looking into reports that civilians were harmed.'". The New York Times. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  18. ^ "France Says Israeli Strikes On Gaza Schools 'Unacceptable'". Barron's. Agence France Presse. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
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