Israeli airstrike on refugee camp kills at least 29 in Gaza

An Israeli airstrike on a Gaza displacement camp near al-Awda school killed at least 29 Palestinians and wounded dozens. The Israeli military claimed to target a Hamas terrorist, while witnesses described horrific scenes. International condemnation followed the attack.

On Tuesday, an Israeli strike targeted a tent camp that Palestinians have been using as shelter in the southern Gaza Strip where 29 people were killed and over 50 injured as reported by the local hospitals. The strike aimed at a location close to al-Awda school in Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Younis, where more than thousands of civilians had fled from ongoing fighting.

Survivors of the tragedy said that many people died, an eyewitness claimed that the number of victims was ‘unimaginable’. In addition, body parts were seen all over the place, and those who were staying in tents near the school were affected as well. Several testimonies suggested several women and children were killed in the attack, and much destruction occurred.

The Israeli military said that it had targeted a “terrorist from Hamas’ military wing” who supposedly had been involved in the October 7 attack against Israel with “precise munition”. They also said they were investigating reports that civilians were affected in the attack near the school.

This strike adds to the previous three attacks on or near schools where displaced people are being provided for in the Gaza Strip within the last four days, thus raising concern on the protection of civilians in the conflict. The attack has generated controversy in the international society, the European Union and Germany have strongly criticized the attack.

It is unconceivable that people who try to take refuge in schools are being killed, the German foreign ministry responded. For the record, such daily attacks on schools by the Israeli army have to be stopped and an investigation must be forthcoming.

The United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) stated that 66% of all schools in Gaza have been damaged since the beginning of the war. Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA responded to the situation with a lot of concern by saying, “Schools have moved from being safe havens that children could run to in their pursuit of education and hope to being overcrowded shelters and often transform to a place of death and despair. ”

At the time of writing this paper, the conflict has been raging on for the tenth month, and the Gaza health ministry stated that more than 38,240 people have been killed in the territory since Israel’s military campaign in response to the attack that Hamas conducted on October 7, 2021, and killed about 1,200 people in southern Israel while taking 251 others hostage.

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International organisations still appeal for the parties to the conflict to cease hostilities and spare civilians as the humanitarian situation worsens in Gaza.