Europe Dozens killed in attack on school building in Gaza

Dozens of people have been killed in a devastating Israeli airstrike on a school building in the city of Gaza, according to Palestinian reports. A spokesman for the Hamas-controlled Palestinian civil defense spoke of at least 93 dead in the building used as refugee accommodation. The Israeli military confirmed the attack, which was aimed at a Hamas command center located in the attacked building. According to the army, the air force had used small-caliber missiles, which is why the number of victims could not have been that high. Neither side was able to independently confirm the information.

The attack took place in the early hours of the morning, when many people were performing their morning prayers. The men were on the first floor and the women and children on the upper floor of the Al-Tabain school in the center of the city of Gaza. Eyewitnesses reported horrific scenes. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air and parts of bodies were scattered far and wide, said a man from the neighborhood who had rushed to the scene after the detonation. He added that he was in tears. A woman who survived the attack on the upper floor said she had lost ten relatives, including her father, two sons and her brothers.

Hospitals can hardly help the injured

Palestinian medical and security circles estimated more than 100 dead and dozens more injured. The civil defense spokesman pointed out that many more people would die because the hospitals in the Gaza Strip were barely able to help the seriously injured. The Israeli military stated that Hamas had set up a command center in the prayer room of the Al-Tabain school in the center of the city of Gaza. According to this information, at least 20 Hamas fighters were there at the time of the attack. The Islamist organization denied this. The victims were civilians, it claimed in a statement.

Mediator states condemn the attack

The serious attack caused outrage in the region. Egypt and Qatar - two Arab countries mediating in the indirect ceasefire negotiations between Israel and Hamas - condemned the "massacre". It was a "continuation of crimes on a large scale" in which "huge numbers of unarmed civilians" were killed, the Foreign Ministry in Cairo announced. The attack was "clear proof" that there was no will on the Israeli side to end the brutal war in the Gaza Strip.

In a statement published by the state news agency QNA, the Qatari Foreign Ministry spoke of a "brutal crime against defenseless civilians". Qatar called for an urgent international investigation into the incident.

Borrel: "No justification for these massacres"

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Josep Borrell expressed his horror at the attack. "At least ten schools have been targeted in recent weeks. There is no justification for these massacres," Borrell wrote on Platform X. "We are shocked by the terrible total number of victims." A ceasefire is the only way to end the killing of civilians and secure the release of hostages, he warned.

Israel: Hamas abuses civilians as living shields

In the war that has been raging for ten months in the sealed-off coastal area, many civilians are repeatedly killed in Israeli attacks. Israel's goal in the war is to destroy Hamas. Israel explains the fact that civilians are repeatedly among the victims by saying that Hamas terrorists have entrenched themselves in schools and hospitals and misused civilians as living shields. Civilian victims are regrettable "collateral damage" of legitimate military actions, according to the statement.

These - and contrary - statements can hardly be verified in individual cases. The International Court of Justice in The Hague is currently examining a lawsuit by South Africa which aims to establish that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinians in the Gaza war. Israel vehemently denies this. The Commissioner-General of the UN Palestinian Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), Philippe Lazzarini, condemned the latest Israeli attack. Schools - like other civilian institutions - should never be a target for the parties to the conflict and should not be used for military purposes.

Ceasefire as the key

The Gaza war was triggered by the unprecedented massacre of more than 1,200 people killed by terrorists from Hamas and other groups in Israel last October. According to the Hamas-controlled health authority on Saturday, 39,790 people have been killed and a further 91,702 injured in the Gaza Strip since the start of the war. The figures do not distinguish between civilians and fighters and cannot be independently verified.

A ceasefire in the Gaza war is seen as the key to defusing the situation in the Middle East. In a joint statement, the USA, Qatar and Egypt have strongly urged both sides to reach an agreement.