September 2024 Al-Jawni School attack

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September 2024 Al-Jawni school attack
Part of the attacks on schools during the Israeli invasion of Gaza in the Israel–Hamas war
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Al-Jawni School
Location Nuseirat refugee camp, Gaza Strip
Date11 September 2024
TargetUN-run Al-Jawni school
Attack type
 Airstrikes, war crime
Deaths18+ people (including 6 UNRWA staff) [1]
Injured44+ people
PerpetratorFlag of the Israel Defense Forces.svg  Israel Defense Forces

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. [2] Among the killed were six United Nations workers, including the manager of the UNRWA shelter. [3] 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. [2] 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. [4]

Contents

Background

On 6 July, UNRWA-run 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. [5] 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. [6] Philippe Lazzarini, the head of UNRWA, stated two-thirds of all UNRWA schools in Gaza had been hit since October 2023. [7] According to the UNRWA, Al-Jawni school had been used as a polio vaccination center only a week before it was attacked by the IDF. [2]

A United Nations Security Council Resolution adopted on 25 March 2024 had demanded an immediate ceasefire in the Israel–Hamas War. [8]

Attack

The IDF targeted the UN-run Al-Jawni school in Nuseirat refugee camp with two airstrikes, killing at least 18 people, including six UNRWA staff who had just stopped for a lunch break after distributing food aid to local Palestinians. [2] The Israeli military stated that the attack was "a precise strike on terrorists who were operating inside a Hamas command-and-control centre". [9] Israel claimed that three of the UNRWA staff killed in the airstrikes were members of Hamas, without providing evidence, while the UNRWA asserted that all of its staff killed by the IDF were in fact teachers. [2]

The Hamas government media office reported that 5,000 displaced people were sheltering at the school when it was hit. [10] According to the UNRWA, an estimated 12,000 displaced people were sheltering at the school. [2] Witnesses reported that "women and children were blown to pieces" in the assault. [11] A Palestinian woman reported losing all of her six children in the attack, stating "all of a sudden there was a huge explosion... women and children were blown to pieces. We rushed to see our children but found them torn to pieces". [4] A man reported "we don’t have any resistance fighters here, none of them enter the school. Look around, it’s all food aid" and that "the people who were distributing the aid are the ones who died, civilians. We are all civilians here who are dying". [2]

Reactions

UN secretary-general António Guterres called Israel's actions in Gaza "totally unacceptable". [12] In a social media post, World Food Programme head Cindy McCain stated her organization was "devastated" by the loss of their six UN colleagues, and that such attacks were "absolutely unacceptable" and needed to stop. [13] UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini denounced what he called the "endless and senseless killing, day after day", and reported that "humanitarian staff, premises and operations have been blatantly and unabatedly disregarded since the beginning of the war". [4] Israel responded that "it is unconscionable that the UN continues to condemn Israel in its just war against terrorists". [14]

European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said that he was "outraged" by the killing of UNRWA staff and condemned the constant "disregard for the basic principles of international humanitarian law" by Israel. [4]

Qatar condemned the attack as a "horrific massacre" and called for an independent UN investigation into the attack. [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maghazi refugee camp</span> Palestinian refugee camp in the Deir al-Balah Governorate in the central Gaza Strip

Maghazi is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the Deir al-Balah Governorate in the central Gaza Strip. It was established in 1949. The camp is built on 559 dunums (0.6 km2). In July 2023, the UNRWA reported its population to be 33,000. During the first months of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, its population tripled and faced repeated airstrikes by the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuseirat refugee camp</span> Refugee camp in Deir al-Balah, State of Palestine

Nuseirat is a Palestinian refugee camp located in the middle of the Gaza Strip, five kilometers north-east of Deir al-Balah. The refugee camp is in the Deir al-Balah Governorate, Gaza Strip. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, the refugee camp had a population of 31,747 and the surrounding Nuseirat municipality had a population of 54,851 in 2017. The camp was established after the 1948 Palestinian expulsion during the 1948 Palestine war.

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

The 2014 Israeli shelling of UNRWA Gaza shelters were seven shellings at UNRWA facilities in the Gaza Strip which took place between 21 July and 3 August 2014 during the Israeli-Gaza conflict. The incidents were the result of artillery, mortar or aerial missile fire which struck on or near the UNRWA facilities being used as shelters for Palestinians, and as a result at least 44 civilians, including 10 UN staff, died. During the 2014 Israel-Gaza conflict, many Palestinians fled their homes after warnings by Israel or due to air strikes or fighting in the area. An estimated 290,000 people took shelter in UNRWA schools.

Events in 2023 in the Palestinian territories.

From 9 October 2023, as part of the Israel–Hamas war, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted airstrikes in Jabalia refugee camp, claiming it was a stronghold for Hamas and other militant groups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siege of Gaza City</span> Ongoing military engagement in Gaza City

The siege of Gaza City began on 2 November 2023, when the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) surrounded Gaza City, amid the Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip, which was a counterattack to the 2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel. Gaza City is the most populated city in the Gaza Strip and the battle started on 30 October 2023, when Israel and Hamas clashed in Gaza City. According to Oxfam, there are about 500,000 Palestinians, along with 200 Israelis and other captives, were trapped in a "siege within a siege" in northern Gaza.

Israel conducted two airstrikes on the al-Fakhoora school in the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, which was being used as a shelter by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNRWA). On 4 November 2023, an Israeli airstrike killed at least 15 people and injured 70.

Since the outbreak of the Israel–Hamas war on 7 October 2023, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted numerous airstrikes in densely populated Palestinian refugee camps in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank. Al-Maghazi refugee camp was struck several times.

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

In the Israel–Hamas war, as part of the bombing and invasion of Gaza, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has conducted numerous airstrikes in densely populated Palestinian refugee camps in both the Gaza Strip and West Bank.

<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 2024, 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 August 2024, UNICEF stated 564, or 85 percent, of all schools in Gaza had been hit by Israeli attacks.

Events of the year 2024 in Israel.

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.

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 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.

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. ↑ "18 Palestinians killed as Israel bombs another UN-run school in Gaza". Al Jazeera. 11 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Salman, Abeer (11 September 2024). "Israeli airstrike on Gaza school sheltering displaced people kills at least 18, including UN staff, Palestinian officials say". CNN. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  3. ↑ Shurafa, Wafaa. "Israeli airstrikes hit UN school and homes in Gaza and kill at least 34 people, hospitals say". Associated Press. Retrieved 17 September 2024.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Quillen, Stephen (12 September 2024). "Israel's war on Gaza live: 6 UN staff among 18 killed in school attack". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  5. ↑ "Dozens killed in Gaza as Israel strikes fourth school in four days". France24. Retrieved 20 July 2024.
  6. ↑ 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.
  7. ↑ "Deadly Israeli strike on school-turned-shelter in southern Gaza". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 13 July 2024.
  8. ↑ Borger, Julian (25 March 2024). "UN security council votes to demand immediate ceasefire in Gaza". The Guardian. ISSN   0261-3077. Archived from the original on 25 March 2024. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
  9. ↑ "Six Unrwa workers among estimated 18 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza school sheltering displaced". The Guardian. 12 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  10. ↑ "Six Unrwa workers among estimated 18 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza school sheltering displaced". The Guardian. 12 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  11. ↑ Quillen, Stephen (12 September 2024). "Israel's war on Gaza live: 6 UN staff among 18 killed in school attack". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  12. ↑ "Six Unrwa workers among estimated 18 killed in Israeli strike on Gaza school sheltering displaced". The Guardian. 12 September 2024. Retrieved 12 September 2024.
  13. ↑ @WFPChief (12 September 2024). "We are devastated by the loss of six of our @UNRWA colleagues in Gaza, killed by an Israeli airstrike on a school. This is absolutely unacceptable and has to stop. Humanitarians must be protected. They are #NotATarget" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ↑ "Israel Gaza: UN says Israeli air strike killed six of its staff". www.bbc.com. Retrieved 15 September 2024.
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