At least 29 Palestinians have been killed and many others wounded in an Israeli airstrike on a displacement camp near a school in southern Gaza, according to hospital officials.
Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry reported that the strike occurred adjacent to the gate of al-Awda school in the town of Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Younis.
The Israeli military claimed that it had deployed “precise munition” targeting a “terrorist from Hamas’ military wing” who had been involved in the October 7 attack on Israel.
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They stated that they are “looking into the reports that civilians were harmed” near the al-Awda school, which serves as a refuge for displaced individuals from eastern Khan Younis.
This incident comes just a week after the Israeli military ordered civilians to evacuate Abasan al-Kabira and other parts of eastern Khan Younis, causing tens of thousands to flee.
Witnesses told the area was crowded with displaced people at the time, and described the devastating aftermath in graphic detail. The strike resulted in widespread destruction, and witnesses reported seeing body parts scattered and many people injured, including those living in tents outside the school.
Ayman Al-Dahma, 21, estimated that around 3,000 people were in the area, which also housed a market and residential buildings. He described the casualty numbers as “unimaginable” and recounted seeing people with limbs severed by the blast.
“They said it was a safe place – that there were water and food, there were schools and everything… Suddenly a rocket comes down on you and all the people around you,” he said.
Mohamed Awadeh Anzeh said, the area was bustling with people and market traders “going about their normal lives” when the strike hit. He added, “Suddenly, while we were sitting, there was a sound. It went dark… I was feeding my little child. I don’t know what happened. Suddenly, I took him and started running… and while I was running, I saw blood coming down from my leg.” Anzeh described the scene as “terrifying,” with body parts scattered across the street.
Iqram Sallout reported that there was no warning before the strike in the densely populated area filled with people displaced by the conflict. “There are many displaced people – you couldn’t even walk in the streets, there were many tents and people, including young people,” he said. “The injuries we saw were severe, even among young children.”
One video showed more than a dozen dead and seriously wounded people, including several children, on the floor of a local hospital. A source at the Nasser hospital in Khan Younis, where the injured were taken, said they expected the death toll to rise.
This marks the fourth attack on or near schools sheltering displaced people in the past four days. The Israeli military said previous strikes were conducted because Hamas politicians, police officers, and fighters were using these locations as bases. These incidents include:
- On Saturday, a strike on a UN-run school in the Nuseirat refugee camp killed 16 people.
- On Sunday, a strike on a church-run school in Gaza City killed a senior Hamas official and three others.
- On Monday night, several people were reportedly wounded in a strike on another UN-run school in Nuseirat.
The Israeli military’s campaign in Gaza aims to dismantle Hamas following an unprecedented attack on southern Israel on October 7, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths and 251 hostages taken. According to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, over 38,240 people have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began.
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