14 Killed, Many Trapped Under Rubble – Israeli Airstrike Hits UNRWA School in Nuseirat

14 people were killed in an Israeli attack on the Al-Jaouni School. (Photo: via social media)

An Israeli airstrike on a UNRWA-run school sheltering displaced civilians in Gaza’s Nuseirat camp killed 14 people, with many still trapped under the rubble, marking the fifth attack on the school since the beginning of the war.

The Israeli army carried out a new airstrike on Wednesday in the Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least 14 Palestinians and wounding many more, Al-Jazeera reported.

According to the Government Information Office in Gaza, 14 people were killed in an Israeli attack on the Al-Jaouni School, which is operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and was sheltering thousands of displaced civilians.

Among the victims were UNRWA staff members, with reports indicating that women and children were also killed in the strike.

Israeli forces bombed Al-Jaouni school in Nuseirat refugee camp, northern Gaza, which is sheltering displaced Palestinians. At least 9 have been confirmed killed by this attack on a shelter, and several others injured. Israel’s outrageous violations of Palestinian life continue. pic.twitter.com/nZXuuAquZT

— Good Shepherd Collective (@Shepherds4Good) September 11, 2024

Under the Rubble 

Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for Gaza’s Civil Defense, told Al-Jazeera that this marks the fifth time the occupation forces had targeted the school without prior warning since the start of the current conflict. 

Basal also stated that several displaced individuals remained trapped under the rubble, and the death toll was expected to rise, as many of the injured were in critical condition. 

The school was sheltering over 5,000 displaced people at the time of the bombing.

The Israeli military acknowledged the airstrike, claiming it had targeted a Hamas leadership facility in the Nuseirat camp. 

The area has experienced multiple massacres, including one during a military operation to recover Israeli captives in June, when nearly 250 Palestinians were killed and over 700 were injured.

This airstrike follows a massacre in the Mawasi Khan Yunis area on Tuesday night, where numerous Palestinians were killed and injured. 

New scenes from the Al-Jaouni School massacre in the Nuseirat camp in the central G٨za Strip.

The children's screams are unbearable, the horror is unimaginable.#StopArmingIsrael #ArmsEmbargoNow pic.twitter.com/eqi7Ldn1Tz

— OpenBorders4Aid ⛑️ (@OpenBorders4Aid) September 11, 2024

Ongoing Genocide

Flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate ceasefire, Israel has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza. 

Currently on trial before the International Court of Justice for genocide against Palestinians, Israel has been waging a devastating war on Gaza since October 7.  

According to Gaza’s Ministry of Health, 41,020 Palestinians have been killed, and 94,925 wounded in Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza starting on October 7.

Moreover, at least 11,000 people are unaccounted for, presumed dead under the rubble of their homes throughout the Strip. 

Israel says that 1,200 soldiers and civilians were killed during the Al-Aqsa Flood Operation on October 7. Israeli media published reports suggesting that many Israelis were killed on that day by ‘friendly fire’. 

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Palestinian and international organizations say that the majority of those killed and wounded are women and children.

The Israeli war has resulted in an acute famine, mostly in northern Gaza, resulting in the death of many Palestinians, mostly children. 

The Israeli aggression has also resulted in the forceful displacement of nearly two million people from all over the Gaza Strip, with the vast majority of the displaced forced into the densely crowded southern city of Rafah near the border with Egypt – in what has become Palestine’s largest mass exodus since the 1948 Nakba.

Later in the war, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians began moving from the south to central Gaza in a constant search for safety.

(PC, AJA)