
12 dead in Israeli strike on Gaza school shelter
The Hindu
Israeli strike kills 12 at Gaza school shelter, amid ongoing conflict with Hamas, targeting alleged command center.
Gaza’s civil defence agency said an Israeli strike on a school-turned-shelter killed at least 12 people on Tuesday (August 20, 2024), while the Israeli military said it struck a Hamas command centre.
“Our crews retrieved 12 martyrs from the Mustafa Hafiz school, which was bombed by the Israeli occupation west of Gaza City,” agency spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP.
Thousands of displaced Palestinians had sought refuge in the school, he said, amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
The Israeli military said the school was targeted because it housed a command-and-control centre.
“Hamas terrorists used the command-and-control centre to plan and execute attacks against IDF (Israeli army) troops and the State of Israel,” the military said in a statement.
It said it carried out a “precise strike on terrorists who were operating” inside the school.
Bassal had earlier given a toll of seven dead and 15 wounded in the strike, which he said had hit the second floor of the school building.













