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The White House has expressed concern over the civilian casualties from an Israeli airstrike on a school in Gaza, which killed between 80 and 100 people.
What’s the deal: On Saturday, an Israeli airstrike targeted the al-Tabin school in Gaza City, which was being used as a shelter for displaced Palestinians, resulting in the deaths of roughly 100 people and leaving many others injured. The strike was carried out using a US-made GBU-39 small-diameter bomb.
What the White House is saying: NSC spokesperson Sean Savett said, “We are deeply concerned about reports of civilian casualties in Gaza following a strike by the Israel Defense Forces on a compound that included a school. We are in touch with our Israeli counterparts, who have said they targeted senior Hamas officials, and we are asking for further details. We know Hamas has been using schools as locations to gather and operate out of, but we have also said repeatedly and consistently that Israel must take measures to minimize civilian harm. We mourn every Palestinian civilian lost in this conflict, including children, and far too many civilians continue to be killed and wounded.”
Criticism from outside: Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell said he was “horrified by the images from a sheltering school in Gaza hit by an Israeli strike.” He added, “At least 10 schools were targeted in the last weeks. There’s no justification for these massacres.” Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, called the strike “another day of horror.” He added, “It’s time for these horrors unfolding under our watch to end. We cannot let the unbearable become a new norm.”
What Israel is saying: Israel has defended its recent airstrike on the school by stating that the site was being used as a command center by Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, including senior commanders. According to Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) spokesperson Nadav Shoshani, “Based on Israeli intelligence, approximately. 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, including senior commanders, were operating from the compound struck at the Al-Tabaeen school, using it to carry out terrorist attacks.”
What Hamas is saying: In a statement following the strike, a spokesman for Hamas said, “The massacre of the Al-Tabin school in the Daraj neighborhood is a continuation of the Nazi-Zionist genocide against our people, and the US administration is complicit in such crimes. The enemy army fabricates pretexts to target civilians, schools, hospitals, and tents of the displaced people, all of which are flimsy pretexts and blatant lies to justify its crimes.”
