Gaza’s civilian death toll rises as Israel bombs schools and homes

As the world’s sudden moral clarity on the total annihilation of Gaza remains stalled at empty threats, Israel’s attacks on civilian infrastructure is growing more brazen.

On May 26, two overnight Israeli airstrikes on Northern Gaza destroyed a school sheltering displaced people in Gaza City and a family home in Jabalia, killing over 54 Palestinians before dawn, Al Jazeera reports.

Fahmi al-Jarjawi School in the Daraj neighborhood of Gaza City had been sheltering “hundreds” of refugees from the town of Beit Lahia, which is currently under intense Israeli military assault, Civil Defence spokesman Mahmud Bassal told the AFP news agency. He added that, by estimate, at least 33 people were killed in the attack, most of whom were women and children.

The Israeli government claimed that the attacks were targeting Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad control centers housing “key terrorists” and maintained firmly that “Numerous steps were taken to mitigate the risk of harming civilians.”

The veracity of those claims might be questioned as video footage of the attacks shows graphic images of severely burned victims and survivors with critical injuries as flames engulf the school. Reportedly, 20 bodies were recovered, including those of children.

In a separate attack that same night, a residence was targeted in the town of Jabalia, killing 19 members of the Abd Rabbo family.

The twin attacks surface as part of a broader Israeli offensive that has escalated in Gaza over the past week. The IDF has reported hitting 200 targets across the enclave in the past 48 hours as it continues attacks against so-called “terrorist organizations.”

Al-Jazeera reported on May 25 that an Israeli strike on the home of a Palestinian doctor killed nine of her 10 children, aged between a few months and 12 years old. Currently, Dr. Alaa al-Najjar’s husband remains in critical condition.

International criticism of Israel’s egregious war conduct is finally mounting and has yielded some reprieve for beleaguered Gazans. The Israeli military body COGAT said on May 24 that 388 trucks carrying aid had entered Gaza since the 11-week total blockade was lifted on May 19.

While the condemnation has remained largely verbal, on May 25, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares called for an arms embargo on Israel if it did not stop its indiscriminate attacks at a meeting with 20 countries in Madrid.

Al Jazeera/ Maghrebi