Hamama School bombing

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Hamama School bombing
Part of the Israel–Hamas war
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Sheikh Radwan
Location Sheikh Radwan, Gaza City
Date4 August 2024
TargetHamama school
Attack type
Aerial bombing
Deaths17+ Palestinians [1]
Injured60+ Palestinians
PerpetratorFlag of the Israel Defense Forces.svg  Israel Defense Forces

On 4 August 2024, the Israel Defense Forces bombed Hamama School in the Gaza neighborhood of Sheikh Radwan. The school had been sheltering people displaced by the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, including women and children. Per Gaza's Civil Defense, 17 people were killed and "many others" were wounded, while the school itself was "completely destroyed". The attack was one of a number of attacks on schools during the Israeli invasion of Gaza. The Israeli army stated that the school was being used by Hamas. Hamas criticized this claim as a false pretext "for targeting defenseless civilians". The Palestinian Resistance Movement called the attack a continuation of Israel's "brutal war of extermination" in Gaza. [2]

Contents

Background

On 6 July, UNRWA-ran al-Jawni school sheltering 2,000 refugees at the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza was targeted by an IDF raid which killed sixteen Palestinians. [3] On 7 July, the IDF targeted the Latin Patriarchate-owned Holy Family school located in Gaza City housing hundreds of refugees, killing four. On 8 July, IDF force struck a different Nuseirat UNRWA-run school in, causing several injuries requiring treatment in a local hospital. [4] Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, stated two-thirds of all UNRWA schools in Gaza had been hit since October 2023. [5]

A United Nations Security Council Resolution adopted on 25 March 2024 had demanded an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas War. The attack on the Hamama School coincided with truce talks in Egypt. [6]

Attack

On 4 August, Israeli aircraft struck the Hamama School with a missile. Then, while first responders were rescuing victims of the initial strike, three additional missiles were fired at the school, killing more people and trapping some under rubble. This tactic is commonly used by the Israeli military. No warning was given prior to the first strike. [7] Women and children were among the casualties. [8] According to the Gaza Civil Defense, the Al-Hamama School was targeted alongside the adjacent Al-Huda School, which share a playground. [9]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Refugee camp airstrikes in the Israel–Hamas war</span> Airstrikes in the Gaza Strip and West Bank

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Events in the year 2024 in Palestine.

The following is a list of events during the Israeli–Palestinian conflict in 2024, including the events of the Israel–Hamas war.

On 6 June 2024, the Israel Defense Forces fired two missiles at Al-Sardi, a UNRWA school in the Nuseirat refugee camp. Though the complex had not been used as a school since the outbreak of the war, UNRWA said approximately 6,000 people were using it for shelter.

On 8 June 2024, the Israeli military killed at least 276 people and injured over 698, according to the Gaza Health Ministry and Palestinian health officials, during a hostage rescue operation in the UNRWA Nuseirat refugee camp. The operation's objective was to free multiple hostages taken during the 7 October attack on Israel. The Israeli military acknowledged fewer than 100 Palestinian deaths.

On 9 July 2024, the Israeli Defense Forces bombed Al-Awda school in Abasan al-Kabira near the city of Khan Yunis, in the Gaza Strip, Palestine. The UNRWA-ran that had been converted into a displacement shelter, hosting refugees from the Israeli invasion. At least 31 Palestinians were killed in the attack while over 53 were injured; most of the casualties were women and children. Many of the victims were refugees from Rafah following Israel's Rafah offensive. The attack was the fourth attack on a Palestinian school conducted by the Israel Defense Forces over the prior four days.

On 10 August 2024, Israel struck the Al-Tabaeen school located in eastern Gaza City, which was hosting displaced Palestinians seeking shelter there during the Israel–Hamas war. At least 80 Palestinians were killed and 47 others were injured, with several victims being trapped in the school as the fire spread, according to Palestinian health authorities.

On 17 August 2024, the Israel Defense Forces conducted a series of military attacks on az-Zawayda in Deir al-Balah and in the Nuseirat refugee camp, killing at least 34 people including a family of fifteen. The military strikes and civilian deaths were conducted shortly following the conclusion of ceasefire negotiations in Qatar between Hamas and Israel, mediated by the United States.

On 11 September 2024, the Israel Defense Forces bombed the UN-run Al-Jawni school in the Nuseirat refugee camp of central Gaza. The school had been sheltering people displaced by the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, including women and children. Per rescuers, 18 people were killed and more than 44 others were wounded. Among the killed were six United Nations workers, including the manager of the UNRWA shelter. This made it the highest death toll for UN staff in any single incident of the Israel–Hamas War and raising the number of UNRWA staff killed since the beginning of the war to 220. The attack was one of a number of attacks on schools during the Israeli invasion of Gaza and the fifth bombing of the Al-Jawni School since October 2023.

On 17 October 2024, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) bombed the UNRWA-run Abu Hussein primary school, which had been turned into a shelter for Palestinians displaced by the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip. The airstrike killed at least 28 Palestinians and wounded 160 others.

References

  1. Yee, Vivian; Abuheweila, Iyad; Harouda, Ameera. "Israeli Strike on Gaza Shelter Kills at Least 30 and Injures Dozens". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  2. Palestine Chronicle Staff (4 August 2024). "Deadly Bombardment – 17 Killed as Israel Targets Gaza School". Palestine Chronicle. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  3. "Dozens killed in Gaza as Israel strikes fourth school in four days". France24. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  4. Najjar, Farah. "Gaza City 'uninhabitable' as UN experts blast Israeli 'starvation campaign'". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 9 July 2024. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  5. "Deadly Israeli strike on school-turned-shelter in southern Gaza". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  6. "Israeli attack on school in Gaza kills at least 15 people". Al Jazeera. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  7. "Israeli attack on school in Gaza kills at least 15 people". Al Jazeera. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  8. Palestine Chronicle Staff (4 August 2024). "Deadly Bombardment – 17 Killed as Israel Targets Gaza School". Palestine Chronicle. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  9. Khadder, Kareem. "Israeli airstrikes on two Gaza shelters kill 17, says Gaza Civil Defense". CNN. Retrieved 17 August 2024.