Breadcrumb
Families massacred in their sleep as Israel bombs Gaza school-turned-shelter
The Israeli military massacred at least 33 people and injured more than 55 others on Saturday when it struck a school sheltering displaced families in Gaza City.
The Fahmi al-Jarjawi School, located in the al-Daraj neighbourhood, had been repurposed as a refuge for people forced from their homes by Israel’s months-long assault. Many of the victims were burned alive as they slept.
The Israeli army claimed the school was being used by militants to plan attacks on Israeli forces and civilians, but it has provided no evidence. Eyewitnesses and local sources confirmed the building was functioning solely as a shelter with no militant presence.
The latest massacre has deepened the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, where UN agencies say shelters are dangerously overcrowded and no area is safe from Israeli fire.
According to the Education Cluster, 88 percent of Gaza's school buildings, 496 out of 564, have been hit or damaged by Israeli attacks since 2023, including 275 government schools, 161 UNRWA schools, and 57 private schools. These strikes have killed and maimed thousands.
The Palestinian Mujahideen Movement, formerly affiliated with Fatah, condemned the attack on the school as "one of the most heinous crimes against humanity" and accused Israel of acting with impunity. In a statement published on Telegram, the group denounced what it called international and Arab complicity in Israel’s "genocidal and ethnic cleansing massacres" in Gaza.
It also held the US administration and former President Donald Trump “fully responsible” for the attack, accusing Washington of being a “genuine partner” in enabling Israeli crimes. The group called on Palestinians to “shake off the dust of inaction” and rise up in the face of continued bloodshed.
Saturday’s school strike was part of a broader wave of Israeli air raids across the Gaza Strip that killed at least 52 people. One strike hit a home, killing 16 members of the same family, including five women and two children, according to Shifa Hospital in Gaza City.
Since resuming its ground offensive in March after the collapse of a ceasefire, Israel has vowed to dismantle Hamas and has effectively occupied much of Gaza, in defiance of repeated calls for a ceasefire and international peace efforts.
The war has displaced around 90% of Gaza’s population, with many forced to seek shelter in schools and overcrowded tent camps. The Gaza Health Ministry estimates that around 54,000 people have been killed, more than half of them women and children.
Meanwhile, a controversial new humanitarian aid distribution system, backed by Israel and the United States, is set to begin operations.
The system has faced criticism from UN agencies and major aid groups, who say it could entrench Israeli control over Gaza. Jake Wood, the American heading the initiative, resigned this week, citing operational obstacles. Critics say the system risks aiding Israel’s ongoing occupation and ethnic cleansing campaign.