In the aftermath of a devastating airstrike on a Tabeen school which served as a shelter for displaced people in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) denied Palestinian claims of a high civilian death toll, insisting that its strike targeted and killed 19 Hamas fighters.
They claimed that 19 militants confirmed killed were affiliated with Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The IDF released an infographic identifying each of the 19 killed and their affiliations.
“The Hamas terrorist organization systematically violates international law and operates from within civilian infrastructure and shelters, brutally exploiting the civilian population and institutions as human shields for their terror activities,” the IDF said.
“The strike was carried out using three precise munitions, which, according to professional analysis, cannot cause the amount of damage that the Hamas-run government information office in Gaza is reporting. Furthermore, no severe damage was caused to the compound where the terrorists were situated,” the army said.
“Prior to the strike, numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians, including the use of a small warhead, aerial surveillance, and intelligence information.”
At least 100 Palestinians, mainly women and children, were killed on Saturday morning, August 10 reportedly by Israeli airstrikes at a school. The injured were transferred to Al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza.
The Israeli warplanes targeted the Al-Tabi’in School in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood where displaced people were performing the Fajr prayer, Xinhua news agency reported.
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