At least 12 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City, according to the Hamas-run Civil Defense authority. The strike hit the Mustafa Hafez school in the western Rimal neighborhood on Tuesday morning, reducing a two-story building to rubble and leaving rescue teams scrambling to find survivors.
Search for Missing Continues
Civil Defense spokesman Mahmoud Basal confirmed that rescue crews were struggling to recover people believed to be trapped under the debris. The airstrike targeted an entire wing of the school, which had become a refuge for approximately 700 displaced individuals, many of whom had fled their homes due to the ongoing conflict. Women and children could be seen and heard fleeing the scene in a video posted on social media, capturing the chaos and devastation that followed the strike.
“We were sitting safely, we did not see the explosion,” said one witness, Umm Mohammed, in an interview with Reuters. “The people are gone, they’re dead. They are under the rubble.”
Israeli Military Response
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed the airstrike, stating that it had targeted a Hamas command and control center embedded within the school. The IDF claimed that it had taken numerous precautions to minimize civilian casualties, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and additional intelligence.
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians,” the IDF stated. “However, Hamas continues to violate international law by operating within civilian infrastructure, putting Gaza’s population at risk.”
Hamas has consistently denied allegations of using civilian structures for military purposes.
Rising Civilian Casualties in Gaza
The incident at Mustafa Hafez school is the latest in a series of airstrikes on civilian structures in Gaza, drawing widespread condemnation. Earlier this month, the UN Human Rights Office condemned what it described as the “increasing frequency” of Israeli strikes on schools sheltering displaced people, criticizing the IDF for what it called an apparent disregard for the high rate of civilian fatalities.
The attack on Mustafa Hafez school came just weeks after a strike on al-Taba’een school in Gaza City, which left at least 70 Palestinians dead, according to local hospital reports. The IDF, in that instance, claimed the school was being used as an active military facility by Hamas and Islamic Jihad, identifying 31 “terrorists” among those killed.
Since the conflict escalated last year, more than 40,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry. The heavy toll on civilians has intensified international calls for a ceasefire.
Diplomatic Efforts for Ceasefire
Amidst the continuing violence, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken has been actively engaged in diplomatic efforts to secure a ceasefire and a potential hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas. Following talks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Blinken indicated that Israel had accepted a U.S. proposal aimed at bridging the gaps between the warring parties.
However, Hamas criticized the U.S. and Netanyahu, accusing them of imposing new conditions that could hinder an agreement. A significant point of contention remains Netanyahu’s demand for Israeli troops to control the Philadelphi corridor, a narrow strip of land along Gaza’s border with Egypt, which Hamas strongly opposes, viewing it as a continuation of Israeli occupation.
As diplomatic efforts continue, the situation on the ground remains dire, with both sides seemingly far from reaching an agreement that could end the violence and prevent further loss of life.
