Witnesses and hospital officials said the strike hit the al-Sardi School, run by UNRWA, the AP reported. They said the school was filled with Palestinians who had fled Israeli offensive and bombardment in northern Gaza.
Ayman Rashed, who said he had been at the school after being displaced from Gaza City told AP missiles hit classrooms on the second and third floor of the facility where families were sheltering. He said he helped carry out five of those killed, including an old man and two children.
“It was dark, with no electricity, and we struggled to get out the victims,” Rashed said.
The attack comes after the military said it was starting new operations in the area, appearing to broaden its monthslong offensive in the enclave. It also comes as Israel faces mounting backlash on the global stage after a “targeted” strike appeared to spark a deadly fire that swept through a tent camp housing displaced civilians, killing at least 45 people.
Images emerged from that attack showed screaming Palestinians fleeing for safety and helping the injured, with video shared on social media showing the burned corpses of people killed. In one video, a man could be seen holding up the headless body of a small child.
The IDF has said it is investigating the May 26 strike.
While witnesses said the school hit in the IDF’s latest strike was filled with Palestinians fleeing fighting in northern Gaza, Nuseirat is also one of several areas that hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians have fled to over recent weeks after Israeli forces launched ground operations in Rafah last month and ordered evacuations in the city in southern Gaza, which Israel had previously declared a « safe zone. »
Israeli forces have declared nearby Muwasi a humanitarian area and « safer » zone for Palestinians to seek refuge, crowded conditions at the site and fears for safety have forced many to seek shelter elsewhere.
More than 36,500 people have been killed in Gaza, according to the Gaza health ministry, since Israel launched its offensive on the enclave following Hamas’ Oct. 7 attacks, in which some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 others taken hostage, according to Israeli officials. Some 120 people remain held captive in Gaza, with at least a third believed to be dead, Israeli officials have said.
Ammar Cheikh Omar and The Associated Press contributed.
