On Tuesday, an Israeli strike hit a UN school-turned-shelter for displaced Palestinians in central Gaza’s Bureij refugee camp, killing 22 people and wounding 52.
Footage of the aftermath of the attack shows many children among the casualties. According to the Palestinian news agency WAFA, at least seven children were killed by the strike.
“We condemn in the strongest terms the horrific massacre against civilians and the US administration’s alignment with the occupation,” Gaza’s Government Media Office said in a statement on the attack.
Schools sheltering displaced Palestinians have been a frequent target of Israeli strikes in Gaza. The Israeli military typically claims to target Hamas in the attacks, but never provides evidence for the claims. So far, there’s been no public comment from the Israeli military about the Bureij strike.
Gaza’s Health Ministry said in its daily update on Tuesday that Israeli strikes killed 48 Palestinians and injured 142 over the previous 24 hours. “There are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the streets, and ambulance and civil defense crews cannot reach them,” the ministry said.
The relentless Israeli attacks come as Palestinian children are facing starvation due to the US-backed Israeli blockade that’s been imposed for over two months.
The Health Ministry said that since Israel resumed its genocidal war on March 18, at least 2,507 Palestinians have been killed, and 6,711 were injured. The numbers account for dead and wounded Palestinians brought to hospitals and morgues.
Since October 7, 2023, the ministry’s death toll has reached 52,615, and the number of wounded has climbed to 118,752, figures that don’t account for thousands missing and presumed dead under the rubble or indirect deaths caused by the Israeli siege.
