Cliff Notes
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An Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza has resulted in at least 20 fatalities, including women and children; the school was sheltering displaced individuals from prior attacks.
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The scene is described as horrific, with fears that more victims may be trapped under the debris, according to local medical sources.
- International condemnation of Israel’s military campaign is mounting, with calls for accountability over the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza.
At least 20 dead in Israeli airstrike on Gaza school housing displaced people, say health authorities | World News
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At least 20 people have been killed and dozens more injured after an Israeli airstrike targeting a school in Gaza, health authorities have said.
Reuters news agency reported the number of dead, citing medics, with the school in the Daraj neighbourhood in Gaza City having been used to shelter displaced people who had fled previous bombardments.
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Medical and civil defence sources on the ground confirmed women and children were among the casualties, with several charred bodies arriving at al Shifa and al Ahli hospitals overnight into Monday.
The scene inside the school has been described as horrific, with more victims feared trapped under the rubble.
There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military.
It comes as a British doctor working in Gaza has hit out at politicians who he accused of being “complicit” in the “ongoing slaughter and starvation” in the Palestinian territory.
‘They have never smelt the rotting flesh’
Tom Potokar, who is working at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, said the “political class… appear on the news shows, give interviews and try to justify what is happening, sitting in their offices, safe and sound, well fed and surrounded by all the luxuries of modern life”.
He said: “They have no idea how dangerous their words are. They have never been here, they’ve never seen with their own eyes what is going on, heard the screams, smelt the rotting flesh, shuddered from the constant bombardment.”
The medic added that if they spent “just one day here they would have the courage and the humanity to speak the truth… and use their power to bring this to an end, rather than being complicit in sustaining what is happening here”.
Earlier, a medical charity chief spoke out about the deaths of a doctor’s nine children in an Israeli airstrike on Friday in Gaza, and the “almost impossibility” of providing care in the region.
Chris Lockyear – the secretary general of Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), or Doctors Without Borders – told Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips the bodies of nine of paediatrician Alaa al Najjar’s 10 children arrived at the Nasser Medical Complex, in the city of Khan Younis, while she was on shift.
The attack in southern Gaza on Friday also left her husband, Hamdi al Najjar, severely wounded, and her only surviving son, Adam, aged 11, in a critical condition. The dead brothers and sisters ranged in age from seven months to 12 years old.
There has been mounting international condemnation of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, which has seen Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accuse critical Western leaders including Sir Keir Starmer and French President Emmanuel Macron of siding with Hamas.
Last Tuesday, the UK paused free trade talks with Israel, summoned its ambassador, and announced further sanctions against West Bank settlers as Foreign Secretary David Lammy condemned a “monstrous” military escalation in the Palestinian territory.
In recent days, Israel has allowed some aid trucks to enter Gaza after blocking the entry of medical, food and fuel supplies since the start of March, which had prompted international experts to warn of looming famine.
Despite the warnings, Mr Netanyahu has said Israel would control the whole of Gaza – it has so far taken control of around 77% either through ground forces or evacuation orders and bombardments that keep residents away from their homes, according to Gaza’s media office.
Israel stepped up its military operations in early May, saying it was seeking to eliminate Hamas’ military and governing capabilities and bring back the remaining hostages who were seized on 7 October 2023.
The war began when Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel on that day, killing 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping about 250 others.
Israel’s military response has flattened large areas of Gaza and killed more than 53,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its count.