Israeli strike on Gaza school shelter kills 7; hospitals set to shut as heavy rain floods tent cities
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The Israeli military shelled on Sept 22 a school at the Al-Shati refugee camp where hundreds were sheltering.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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GAZA STRIP – Civil defence rescuers in Gaza City said an Israeli strike on Sept 22 on a school-turned-shelter killed at least seven people, with the Israeli military saying it targeted Hamas militants.
The vast majority of the besieged Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once by the war, sparked by Hamas’ Oct 7 attack on Israel,
Civil defence agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal reported “seven martyrs and a number of wounded, including serious cases, as a result of Israeli shelling of Kafr Qasim School” in the Al-Shati refugee camp.
He said hundreds of displaced Gazans were sheltering there.
The Israeli military said it was targeting Palestinian militants operating from the school grounds, and that its forces took steps “to mitigate the risk of harm to uninvolved civilians”, including by using “precise munitions” and surveillance.
It said the air force “conducted a precise strike on Hamas terrorists in the northern Gaza Strip” who were “operating from a compound” at the school complex.
The military statement did not provide information on casualties.
The attack was the latest in a series of Israeli strikes on school buildings housing displaced people in Gaza, where fighting has raged for nearly a year.
On Sept 21, the civil defence agency said an Israeli strike on another school-turned-shelter, also in Gaza City, killed 21 people. The military said it was targeting militants.
A strike on the United Nations-run Al-Jawni School in central Gaza on Sept 11 drew international outcry
The Israeli military accuses Hamas of hiding in school buildings where thousands of Gazans have sought shelter – a charge denied by the Palestinian militant group.
At least 41,391 Palestinians, a majority of them civilians, have been killed in Israel’s military campaign in Gaza since the war began, according to data provided by the health ministry. The UN has acknowledged these figures as reliable.
The Oct 7 attack that triggered it resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to a tally based on official Israeli figures, which includes hostages killed in captivity.
Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 97 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including 33 who the Israeli military says are dead.
They need new tents
On Sept 22, Gaza’s Health Ministry warned that all services in all hospitals could halt in 10 days because of the shortages in essential spare parts, and oil needed to operate the fuel-powered generators.
Adding to the turmoil and misery, heavy rain flooded tent encampments overnight.
“Ten minutes of rain were enough to sink the tents. What if it rained all day? Tents are already worn out and can’t stand winter,” said Aya, displaced with her family in the central city of Deir Al-Balah, where around a million people are sheltering.
“We don’t want new tents. We want the war to end. We don’t want temporary solutions in hell,” the 30-year-old told Reuters via a chat app.
More shelters and supplies to help people cope with the coming winter are needed, Ms Juliette Touma, UNRWA’s director of communications.
“With rain and temperatures dropping, people are likely to fall ill especially children who are most vulnerable to colds and flu,” said. AFP, REUTERS
