On July 6, the Israeli Occupying Forces' official account announced an attack on Palestinian resistance fighters situated in structures near the UNRWA’s Al-Jaouni School in central Gaza. The IOF claimed it took multiple measures to mitigate civilian harm. However, Misbar's investigation found that this assault resulted in a massacre at the school, which houses thousands of civilians, leading to 16 martyrs and over 75 injuries.
IOF Claims Targeting Palestinian Resistance Operating Within UNRWA School in Al-Nuseirat
The Israeli Occupying Forces stated in a release on platform X that, "Based on IDF and ISA intelligence, the IAF struck several terrorists operating in structures located in the area of @UNRWA’s Al-Jaouni School in central Gaza." The military also claimed that Hamas had used the school as a hideout and operational base to carry out attacks against the IOF.
The account also claimed that before the attack, the Israeli military took numerous steps "to mitigate the risk of harming civilians," including the use of precise aerial surveillance and additional intelligence.
In addition, the IOF claimed that Hamas violated international law by using civilians as human shields for its operations against the Israeli military.
Israeli media pages and outlets have spread the same claim online.
Misbar Investigated the Aftermath of the Attack on UNRWA’s Al-Jaouni School
Misbar analyzed videos shot following the attack on Al-Jaouni school on July 6 and found that the attack targeted civilians, contrary to the IOF's claim of mitigating “the risk of harming civilians.”
A video uploaded to YouTube by Palestine TV showed scenes of injured and traumatized children and civilians, with smoke rising from the struck school.
In the video, an injured man is seen holding a girl's hand, while another scared man and a girl appear in a different scene. In addition, the video features civilians running in the street and shouting in search of their family members.
Another video uploaded to X by AJ+ Arabic shows scenes from inside the school moments after the attack. A journalist in the background is heard reporting that most of the martyrs are women and children. Civil defense members are seen conducting operations to rescue civilians and recover bodies from the rubble.
In another part of the same video, civilians in the school mourn the deaths of their family members. Also, men are seen holding injured children after the attack.
In the same video, a child is seen collecting pieces of martyrs at the site of the attack.
Furthermore, a displaced woman who witnessed the attack, said, "[Civilians] were inside when rocket fragments entered their classrooms and their children got injured as a result. Children are missing, and families are searching for their children" following the attack.
In another video published by Ana Alaraby, the same witness said that women and children were scattered to pieces and are all martyrs.
Misbar’s investigative team also analyzed Al Jazeera's live broadcast following the attack on Al-Jaouni school and found distressing scenes of dead and injured civilians, including women and children.
In the live video, a man is seen carrying a severely injured woman. Another scene shows a man carrying remnants of what appears to be a child. In the hospital room among the dead, a martyred boy is seen on the ground.
Another video released by Al Jazeera Mubasher on X shows several children receiving medical treatment after sustaining injuries from the Israeli attack on the UNRWA school.
From all the scenes described above, it is evident that Israel has not taken adequate measures to "mitigate the risk of harming civilians." Unless the IOF considers all these civilian deaths and injuries as collateral damage, their claims are contradicted by the distressing footage and eyewitness accounts.
A glance at past episodes of Israel’s ongoing bloodbath in Gaza suggests that, according to Israeli military logic, the slaughter of at least 274 Palestinians and the wounding of nearly 700 more is considered acceptable "collateral damage" in the recovery of four live Israeli captives.
In November 2023, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that Palestinian civilians being killed en masse are simply "collateral damage" in his military’s destruction of Gaza.
Gaza’s Media Office Refuted the IOF’s Claim
In a press release issued by the Government Media Office, the office refuted the Israeli claim of targeting a Hamas structure inside Al-Jaouni school in Al-Nuseirat camp. The statement asserted that the Israeli occupation army committed a new massacre in the Nuseirat camp, central Gaza Strip, on July 6, 2024, when it bombed the Al-Jaouni school with fighter jets. The office stated that the UNRWA school was sheltering about 7,000 civilians.
This massacre marked the 43 Israeli massacres, resulting in more than 16 martyrs and over 75 civilian injuries, who were taken to Al-Aqsa Martyrs and Al-Awda hospitals.
Hamas Denied the Israeli Claim
Hamas responded by rejecting the Israeli army's claims of Palestinian resistance members being present at Al-Jaouni school, labeling them as "complete lies and misinformation." In a statement released to the press, Hamas criticized the Israeli occupation's claim that the UNRWA school houses resistance elements.
Hamas emphasized that the tragic incident at Al-Jaouni resulted in the deaths of 16 individuals and injuries to numerous innocent civilians, dismissing the Israeli narrative as deceptive.
Moreover, Hamas' denial of the Israeli claim provides evidence that no resistance fighters were present in the school during the attack, and there is no proof that Hamas uses civilians as "human shields."
Misbar's team has documented cases where Israel has used Palestinians as human shields during military operations in Gaza and the West Bank.
Israel Strikes Al-Jaouni UNRWA School Three Times, Killing Dozens of Civilians
On July 6, the Israeli airstrike was not the first reported attack by Israel targeting civilians at Al-Jaouni school in Al-Nuseirat camp.
According to reports, the IOF conducted an airstrike on May 5, resulting in the killing of six individuals. Video footage shared by Anadolu Agency featured the aftermath of the attack.
Subsequently, on May 16, the IOF struck the same school, killing four Gazan individuals, as reported by Alaraby TV. Distressing scenes following the attack were widely circulated by media outlets.
The third attack occurred on July 7, with Israel targeting the same school and resulting in the deaths of 16 people. This contradicts Israel's claim of mitigating "the risk of harming civilians," given previous civilian casualties at the school and multiple strikes.
Israel Targets UNRWA Sites in Gaza
There have been 453 incidents affecting UNRWA premises and those inside since the beginning of the conflict, with some locations experiencing multiple incidents. This includes at least 72 incidents involving military use and interference at UNRWA premises, impacting 188 different UNRWA installations.
UNRWA estimates that at least 524 internally displaced persons sheltering in UNRWA facilities have been killed and 1,606 have been injured since the start of the war. As of May 5, the total number of UNRWA colleagues killed since the beginning of Israeli aggression is 188.
According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, as of July 8, at least 38,193 Palestinians have been reported killed in the Gaza Strip since October 7. In addition, 87,903 Palestinians have been reported injured in Israeli assaults on Gaza.
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