Hamama School bombing

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Hamama School bombing
Part of Israel–Hamas war and Gaza genocide
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Sheikh Radwan
Location Sheikh Radwan, Gaza City
Date4 August 2024
TargetHamama school
Attack type
Aerial bombing
Deaths17+ Palestinians
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. [1]

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. [2] 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. [3] Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, stated two-thirds of all UNRWA schools in Gaza had been hit since October 2023. [4]

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. [5]

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. [6] Women and children were among the casualties. [7]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">2014 Israeli shelling of UNRWA Gaza shelters</span>

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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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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Attacks on schools during the Israeli invasion of Gaza</span> 2023 airstrikes on educational facilities in the Gaza Strip

Since the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war on 7 October 2023, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted numerous airstrikes on more than 200 educational facilities, including universities, in the Gaza Strip. The IDF states such airstrikes are the result of the placement of military infrastructure and rocket launching from civilian areas, including schools. By late March 2024, the United Nations recorded more than 200 Israeli attacks on schools in Gaza, with at least 53 schools totally destroyed. By July, all 19 Gaza universities had suffered severe damage with 80% of university buildings destroyed, 103 academics killed, and 90,000 students enrolled in higher education no longer able to pursue their studies. In June 2024, UNOCHA stated 76 percent of Gaza's schools required "full reconstruction or major rehabilitation", and in July 2024, UNRWA stated nearly 120, or 70 percent, of their schools had been hit by Israeli attacks.

Events in 2024 in the Palestinian territories.

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

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 Nuseirat rescue operation</span> Israeli operation

The Nuseirat rescue operation was a rescue operation carried out by Yamam, the Shin Bet and Israel Defense Forces with intelligence support from the United States in the Nuseirat refugee camp on 8 June 2024 to recover hostages taken from the Re'im music festival massacre during the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel.

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.

The 9 July 2024 Gaza attacks refer to a series of coordinated attacks by the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza City and Deir al-Balah, resulting in the deaths of at least 50 Palestinians and injury of at least 80 more as reported by the Gaza Health Ministry.

On July 9, 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.

References

  1. Palestine Chronicle Staff (4 August 2024). "Deadly Bombardment – 17 Killed as Israel Targets Gaza School". Palestine Chronicle. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  2. "Dozens killed in Gaza as Israel strikes fourth school in four days". France24. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  3. 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.
  4. "Deadly Israeli strike on school-turned-shelter in southern Gaza". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  5. "Israeli attack on school in Gaza kills at least 15 people". Al Jazeera. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  6. "Israeli attack on school in Gaza kills at least 15 people". Al Jazeera. 4 August 2024. Retrieved 4 August 2024.
  7. Palestine Chronicle Staff (4 August 2024). "Deadly Bombardment – 17 Killed as Israel Targets Gaza School". Palestine Chronicle. Retrieved 4 August 2024.