Israel claims to have targeted terrorists in the attack on a school, Palestinians speak of many civilian casualties. The USA demands transparency. The news at a glance:
Israel’s army has reportedly once again attacked a school belonging to the UNRWA (UN Relief Agency for Palestinians) in order to take action against a Hamas cell there. The members of the terrorist organization used a container on the school premises in the Al-Shati refugee camp in the northern part of the coastal strip as a meeting point for their activities, the military said. They had also planned attacks there. Terrorists were killed in the air strike, it said. The army did not say exactly how many people were killed.
The military’s statements can only be partially verified. Eyewitnesses confirmed to the German Press Agency that there was an Israeli attack on the container. Several people were killed. There have been no reports of civilian casualties so far.
“The terrorist organization Hamas systematically, deliberately and strategically places its infrastructure in civilian areas and operates from there, which is a complete violation of international law and endangers the lives of civilians in the Gaza Strip,” the army continued. “Many steps were taken before the attack to reduce civilian harm,” it said.
Only yesterday morning, the Israeli army attacked a school building in the Gaza Strip. According to Palestinian authorities, at least 30 people were killed, including women and children. Hamas reported 40 deaths. Since the war began in October, many internally displaced people have sought protection in the UN schools.
USA demands clarification after attack on school
The US is demanding a full investigation into the attack. Even if Israel’s army tried to kill 20 to 30 extremists, but children were killed in the process, “that shows that something is wrong,” said US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
“These are all issues that still need to be verified, and that is what we want to see.” EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell called for an independent investigation into the attack. Meanwhile, it remains unclear what will become of a plan announced by US President Joe Biden to end the fighting in the Gaza Strip. “We have not yet received an official response from Hamas,” said Miller.
According to Palestinian authorities, at least 30 people were killed in the Israeli air strike the night before last, while the Islamist Hamas group said the number of dead was 40. In addition, more than 50 people were injured. Medical sources said that most of the victims were women, children and young people.
School building served as emergency accommodation for UNRWA
According to the UN Relief and Works Agency for the Palestinians (UNRWA), the school building in the Nuseirat refugee district served as emergency accommodation. According to the Israeli army, 20 to 30 members of Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad were in three classrooms during the attack, planning and carrying out attacks from there. According to initial findings, many of them were killed.
Intelligence information had previously indicated that there were “no women or children” in the affected rooms, said Israeli army spokesman Daniel Hagari. The school had been monitored in recent days and the attack had been postponed twice to avoid civilian casualties, another army spokesman explained. As is often the case in the ongoing war, neither the information provided by the Palestinian side nor by the Israelis could be independently verified.
US Department spokesman: situation is complicated
Miller spoke of a difficult situation. Israel has the right to take action against extremists if they were actually hiding in the school. However, they were holed up near civilians – and Israel has an obligation to protect civilians as best as possible. Israel’s government and armed forces must be “completely transparent about what happened there.”
Since the beginning of the war, school buildings belonging to the UN Palestinian relief agency have often served as a place of refuge for internally displaced persons – also in the hope that Israel’s army will not deliberately attack the UN buildings. Israel, in turn, accuses Hamas of operating from civilian facilities and thereby endangering civilians or deliberately using them as a human shield.
Hagari announced that the identities of the terrorists killed would soon be revealed. Some of them were involved in the massacre on October 7 last year – the worst in the history of the State of Israel. At that time, fighters from Hamas and other extremist groups from the Gaza Strip entered Israel, killed more than 1,200 people and abducted more than 250 hostages in the coastal area controlled by Hamas.
Israel criticizes inclusion in UN report on children
Israel has sharply criticized the inclusion of children in an annual UN report on children in armed conflict. The United Nations has thereby put itself on the “black list of history,” Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahuvia told the online platform X. His country’s army is “the most moral in the world; no delusional UN decision will change that.”
At about the same time, Israeli UN Ambassador Gilad Erdan published a video on X which, according to him, shows him being informed by phone by a UN employee about Israel’s inclusion in the report. Erdan wrote that the inclusion in the UN report was “outrageous and wrong”. UN Secretary-General António Guterres encourages terrorism and is motivated by hatred against Israel.
US military: Pier repaired
The US military has repaired the temporary pier on the coast of the Gaza Strip that was damaged in rough seas. This will enable deliveries of urgently needed humanitarian aid to the people in the Gaza Strip to continue, said the US regional command Centcom. The Pentagon had already announced earlier this week that the pier anchored on the coast would be repaired during the course of this week and that aid deliveries could then resume.
The pier was badly damaged in rough seas at the end of May, just a few days after the provisional harbor was completed. Strong waves caused four US military ships involved in the mission to break loose from their moorings.
Germany and allies: Hamas should accept Biden plan
The United States, Germany, France and Great Britain called on Hamas to fully accept and immediately implement the plan recently presented by US President Biden to end the Gaza war. They fully support the comprehensive plan, according to a joint letter published by the Élysée Palace.
The plan envisages ending the war in three phases. A complete and unrestricted ceasefire lasting six weeks is to lead to a permanent ceasefire in a second phase. According to the draft, the conditions for this are to be negotiated during the ceasefire. Hamas says it will only agree to an agreement if it includes an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
Hamas leader rejects ceasefire with disarmament
According to a US media report, Hamas leader Jihia al-Sinwar also rejects an agreement with Israel that would also provide for the disarmament of his terrorist militia. Hamas will neither hand over its weapons, “nor will it sign an agreement that requires this,” Al-Sinwar, who is allegedly in an unknown location in the Gaza Strip, is said to have instructed his organization’s negotiators. In its report, the Wall Street Journal cited Arab mediators who are in contact with the Hamas negotiators.
The Egyptian state-affiliated television station Al-Kahira News had previously reported, citing high-ranking government sources, that Hamas would respond to the draft in the coming days. Egypt, Qatar and the USA are mediating between Israel and Hamas, which do not conduct direct negotiations with each other as a matter of principle.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
