Rabat – At least 29 Palestinians, including many children, were killed near Al-Awda school in the southern Gaza Strip on Tuesday, July 9, in what Palestinian authorities have called a “horrible massacre.”
This marks the fourth Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) strike on a school in the Palestinian territory within the last week. The tragic act occurred in Khan Younis, and medical sources at Nasser Hospital confirmed the casualties.
The IOF claimed that they were “targeting a Hamas militant near the school”, stating the individual was involved in the October 7 attack on Israel.
They said they are currently “verifying reports that civilians were hit” in the process. This cowardly and barbaric aggression has intensified the already high tensions in the region, leading to widespread condemnation and calls for protests.
Izzat al-Rishq, a member of Hamas’s political bureau, accused Israel of a “deliberate” strike and urged the Palestinian population to “take to the streets and squares for marches of anger denouncing the massacres and the war of extermination.”
The incident near Al-Awda school in southern Khan Younis has again brought the humanitarian crisis in Gaza to the forefront, highlighting the severe impact on civilians.
Eyewitness Mohammed Sukkar described the horror to AFP, recounting how the school’s entrance was suddenly bombarded without warning. “They were not part of the resistance, were not armed, they were all civilians,” Sukkar said, emphasizing the innocence of the victims.
Since Saturday, three other schools housing displaced individuals have also been targeted by IOF bombings, resulting in at least 20 deaths according to on-the-ground sources.
The IOF justified these strikes by accusing Hamas of “using civilians as human shields” and targeting “terrorists,” a common group of explanations that they have used since the beginning of their massacres on the besieged enclave.
The northern Gaza Strip has also seen a surge in violence, with Israeli forces launching a major aggression on Gaza City from air and land. Described by Hamas as “the most intense in months,” the merciless IOF massacre has caused massive displacement and destruction.
