Israeli Strike on Gaza School and Mosque Kills 93 Displaced Palestinians Amid Rising Global Condemnation

In a devastating escalation of violence, at least 93 Palestinians were killed in an Israeli airstrike targeting a school and mosque in Gaza that was sheltering displaced civilians, as reported by local authorities.

According to the Gaza Civil Defense, the strike occurred during dawn prayers at the Al-Tabi’in compound, located in the Al-Daraj neighborhood of eastern Gaza City, overnight into Saturday. Israel confirmed it had carried out the strike, asserting that Hamas operatives were using the location as a base.

“We recovered at least 90 people who had been killed,” stated Mahmoud Basal, spokesperson for Gaza Civil Defense, in an interview with CNN. He further described the horrific scene, saying, “many of them are torn apart, many are still unidentified.”

Videos viewed by CNN depict the aftermath of the strike, showing numerous bodies scattered across the site. Eyewitnesses reported that there was no prior warning before the attack took place.

Fares Afana, director of ambulance and emergency services in northern Gaza, emphasized the civilian nature of the casualties. “All of these people who were targeted were civilians, unarmed children, the elderly, men, and women,” he said.

A bereaved man who lost several family members in the strike expressed his anguish, saying, “These were innocent people praying… where is the entire world?”

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) confirmed that the compound was targeted by its air force, stating that the strike precisely targeted “Hamas terrorists operating within a Hamas command and control center embedded” in the building.

The IDF also claimed that various measures were taken to minimize civilian casualties, including the use of precise munitions, aerial surveillance, and intelligence gathering. However, when CNN requested evidence to support the IDF’s assertion that the site housed a Hamas command and control center, the military stated that it had intelligence indicating that around 20 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters were operating from the building. The IDF also disputed the death toll reported by Gazan authorities, though CNN was unable to independently verify these figures.

This incident marks the fifth time since last Sunday that the Israeli military has struck a school in Gaza, according to previous reports by CNN. The UN Human Rights Office expressed its alarm over the “unfolding pattern” of strikes on educational institutions in Gaza. In a statement issued on August 5th, the office noted that “such attacks are escalating.”

The ongoing Israeli military campaign in Gaza has resulted in the deaths of nearly 40,000 Palestinians and injuries to over 90,000, as reported by Gaza’s Ministry of Health. As of early July, nearly 2 million people in Gaza had been displaced—almost the entire population of the enclave—according to United Nations data.

The Israeli military offensive began on October 7th, following an attack by the militant group Hamas on southern Israel, which led to the deaths of at least 1,200 people and the abduction of over 250 others, according to Israeli authorities.

Mahmoud Basal mentioned that many of the deceased have yet to be identified, and many of those who were transferred to hospitals are in critical condition. “There are still large quantities of body parts and torn bodies inside Al-Ahli hospital,” he said, adding that families are struggling to identify their loved ones.

One woman, known as Um Ahmed, described the horrific scene to CNN, saying she was unable to find her husband after the strike. “I went to look for my husband and I didn’t see anybody, they were all in pieces,” she recounted.

Um Ahmed further explained that the mosque was filled with young people who were “all in pieces and dismembered” after the strike.

Another man who came to inspect the school after hearing about the strike during his morning prayer said, “The bodies here are not identifiable… they are all dismembered body parts.”

The Palestinian Authority condemned the strike and also held the United States accountable, calling it “part of a pattern of daily atrocities committed by Israeli occupation forces.”

The strike has drawn widespread international condemnation. Francesca Albanese, UN Special Rapporteur for the Palestinian Territories, accused Israel of “genociding the Palestinians one neighborhood at the time, one hospital at the time, one school at the time, one refugee camp at the time, one ‘safe zone’ at the time.”

Saturday’s attack is part of a series of lethal strikes by Israel over the past week.

Last weekend, airstrikes on several school buildings sheltering displaced Palestinians resulted in the deaths of at least 47 people, including many children, and left dozens more injured.

Videos obtained by CNN from the site of last Sunday’s strike—also claimed by the IDF to have targeted Hamas infrastructure—show widespread destruction and lifeless bodies scattered in a schoolyard. The footage also captures medics and rescue workers transporting injured children to ambulances.

Palestinian officials informed CNN that Israel did not issue any warnings to civilians before the airstrikes took place.