(Image source from: edition.cnn.com)
In the early hours of Thursday Israel attacked al-Sardi school. The Israelis said that they conducted a strike on Hama’s compound (school) and killed 20 to 30 fighters. But the school was packed with Palestinians in central Gaza leaving at least 40 people killed and 70 injured. Hama has denied the claim of Israel and called it a “horrific massacre”.
al-Sardi school was run by the UN agency as a refugee camp for Palestinians. According to local reporters, a warplane fired two missiles at classrooms on the top floor of the school building. Videos are circulating on social media after the incident. The bloodshed videos are disturbing and left all the nations in shock.
Juliette Touma, Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA communications director said that the school was hit many times by the Israelis' to date. Israeli military spokesperson Lt Col Peter Lerner gave a briefing to reporters that Islamic Jihad fighters are precisely taking shelter in a school and their fighter jets have striked on the other building in the same compound where the fighters are taking shelter.
Hamas were unable to confirm the death toll. As of reports till now, 14 children and nine women were killed. Israelis are now using new tactics with their fighter jets as hit and run. The fighter jets are not halting in the war region as the nations are being mediated by the ceasefire talks. The US has issued a joint statement for both regions after eight months of war, stating to compromise and finalise the deal. Israelis have to respond to the ceasefire statement. Besides this Hamas has said that there are no changes in Israeli’s proposal and rejected it because Israeli’s proposal did not have a word of ending the war other than pulling out the complete Gaza strip. Besides this, the US has asked Israel to be transparent with their strike information.
Imad al Maqadmeh, a Palestinian boy was shifted to AL Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir al Balah after the attack on school. He was spotted bleeding, lying on the floor with his face swollen and bruised. He said he lost his father in the attack and asked why innocent people with no arms in the school were being attacked. Bodies lying in the hospitals wrapped in shrouds or carpets, it is becoming impossible for their loved ones to identify them. To date, more than 36,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in the Gaza Strip. Besides, Israel has released satellite photos stating that they have attacked other part of the buildings where the fighters are taking shelter and not the school children. The school compound after the attack was filled with dust and blood. The attacked area was a densely populated south eastern area and a decades-old UNRWA camp.
UNRWA used many schools and other UN Facilities to shelter millions of people who lost their homes in the war.
On flipside, there is a claim that Israelis used US made weapons in the Gaza school attack. Some of the media channels are even investigating for the evidence and tracing the part of the weapon from Honeywell, a company based in the US.
