Israel bombs UN-run school killing 15 Palestinians

GAZA STRIP, Palestinian Territories: A day after Israel struck a convoy of ambulances transporting critically wounded patients from the al-Shifa Hospital to the Rafah border crossing, the Israeli army has intensified its bombardment of the Gaza Strip, hitting schools, mosques and more hospitals.

On Saturday morning an Israeli air missile struck the al-Fakhoora school run by the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Jabalia refugee camp, killing at least 15 people and injuring 54, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

“The number [of deaths] is expected to rise,” said Muhammad Abu Silmeyeh, director of Al-Shifa Hospital.

Thousands of people displaced due to Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip had taken refuge at the al-Fakhoora school.

A witness to the attack who lost family members in the bombing told a foreign media outlet that four people in their family were killed or injured.

“We have nothing to do with anything related to the Hamas movement. The room only had children and women,” the witness added.

The attack on the school is the third major attack on the Jabalia camp.

It came hours after a deadly strike on the Osama bin Zaid school sheltering displaced families in the al-Saftawi area north of Gaza City, killing at least 20 people, according to local media.

On Saturday morning, the entrance of the al-Nasser Children’s Hospital in western Gaza City was also attacked, and several local media outlets reported civilian casualties.

The Health Ministry’s spokesperson has said an estimated 2,200 people, including 1,250 children, are currently buried under the rubble of destroyed buildings in Gaza.

Israeli forces also attacked power generators and solar panels at al-Wafa Hospital in Gaza City, according to local media.

An Anadolu agency correspondent reported that the bombing resulted in a significant fire in the hospital courtyard, which was eventually controlled by civil defence teams after several hours.

That hospital attack comes a day after the Israeli army attacked the entrance to al-Shifa Hospital and areas surrounding al-Quds Hospital and the Indonesian Hospital.

According to journalist Hani Mahmoud in Khan Younis in Gaza’s south, Israeli air attacks have also hit residential homes with solar panels.

“This seems to be the last nail in the coffin,” he told Al Jazeera.

“What the Israel army wants people to do is to leave. The last source that’s keeping them in Gaza was the tiny bit of electricity they got from the solar panels,” he said.

Meanwhile, a water tank in eastern Rafah was also destroyed. “It seems to be another way of telling people, ‘We are going to bomb everything that you rely on for your survival,’” he added.

Gaza-based Al-Aqsa TV reported that the public water tank was used to supply several neighbourhoods.

Separately, an Anadolu correspondent reported that the Israeli army bombed two mosques – the Ali bin Abi Talib and the Al-Istijabah mosques – in the al-Sabra neighbourhood, also in southern Gaza.

Tamer Qarmout, assistant professor in public policy at the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, told Al Jazeera that this is part of Israel’s war strategy.

“There are discussions in Israeli media that the Israeli army will get into phase two of its operations in Gaza starting from next week. This means tactical land operations inside Gaza. So what Israel wants to do before that is to have all the civilians leave to the south,” he said.

“So what they’re [Israel’s army] doing is depriving the civilians stuck in northern Gaza from any means of living. So they’ve hit water tanks, hit civil facilities, hospitals and even UNRWA schools where people are taking refuge. Soon, people will be left with no option but to go south,” Qarmout added.

He noted that while the Israeli army had ordered civilians in Gaza to temporarily move south since the beginning of its operation on the besieged Strip, many people have stayed because of safety concerns amid the Israeli army’s continuous bombardment of the entire enclave.

“People have tried to flee south but the road has been bombed. How can they feel safe if there is no humanitarian corridor to go south?” Qarmout said.

The Israeli army has said that residents of the northern Gaza Strip will be allowed to use Salah al-Din Street, the main road in Gaza, to evacuate south between 11:00 GMT and 14:00 GMT on Saturday.

But according to Qarmout, Israel has a history of breaking promises in warfare. “What are the guarantees that Israel still won’t bombard while fleeing south? There are no international guarantors like the UN to monitor and ensure that people will not be attacked,” he said. “Let’s say the Red Cross is given this mandate. Then people will be ensured and feel safe.”

Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken faced a rising tide of anger in meetings with Arab foreign ministers.

Blinken reaffirmed US support for “humanitarian pauses” in the fighting in Gaza to ensure desperate civilians get help a day after Israel’s hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave the idea short shrift.

Speaking at a news conference in Amman about sparing civilians and speeding up aid deliveries, the US top diplomat said: “The United States believes that all of these efforts will be facilitated by humanitarian pauses.”

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi called for all sides to work together to “stop a catastrophe that will haunt the region for generations”.

The United Nations secretary general, meanwhile, was “horrified” by a strike by Israeli forces on a convoy of ambulances in Gaza on Friday, he said in a statement, adding that the conflict “must stop.”

“I am horrified by the reported attack in Gaza on an ambulance convoy outside Al Shifa hospital. The images of bodies strewn on the street outside the hospital are harrowing,” Antonio Guterres said in the statement.

Insisting he did “not forget the terror attacks committed in Israel by Hamas,” the UN chief added that “for nearly one month, civilians in Gaza, including children and women, have been besieged, denied aid, killed, and bombed out of their homes. This must stop.”

The humanitarian situation in Gaza was “horrific,” he said. There is “not nearly enough” food, water and medicine, while fuel to power hospitals and water plants was running out, he warned.

UN shelters in Gaza “are at nearly four times their full capacity and are being hit in bombardments,” Guterres continued.

“Morgues are overflowing. Shops are empty. The sanitation situation is abysmal. We are seeing an increase in diseases and respiratory illnesses, especially among children. An entire population is traumatised. Nowhere is safe,” he said.

Guterres called again for a ceasefire, and for hostages taken by Hamas in their initial attack on October 7 to be freed.

Guterres called again for all sides to respect international humanitarian law and protect civilians. “All those with influence must exert it to ensure respect for the rules of war, end the suffering and avoid a spillover of the conflict that could engulf the whole region,” he said.

The health ministry in Gaza says more than 9,480 Gazans, mostly women and children, have been killed in Israeli strikes and the intensifying ground campaign.

The UN human rights chief said Saturday he was “disgusted” by the “sharp rise in hatred globally” since the war between Hamas and Israel began on October 7. Volker Turk strongly deplored the surge in cases of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia and other hate-speech, both online and offline.

“The impact of this crisis... has sent shockwaves across every region, dehumanising both Palestinians and Jews,” Turk said in a statement.

“We have witnessed a sharp spike in hate speech, violence and discrimination, deepening social fractures and polarisation... I have heard from both Jews and Muslims that they don’t feel safe, and it saddens me,” he added.

Turk said that around the world “Islamophobic and anti-Semitic harassment, attacks and hate speech have multiplied, including in the context of protests relating to the conflict”.

He said homes and religious buildings had been defaced with threatening symbols along with other images and messages “meant to frighten and provoke hate”.

The United Nations high commissioner for human rights also hit out at “inflammatory, toxic and hateful rhetoric” used by political leaders.

“The torrent of hateful language being used, including on social media, is abhorrent,” he said. “International human rights law is clear on this. Any advocacy of national, racial or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence is prohibited.”

Meanwhile, Turkiye said it has recalled its ambassador to Israel for consultations over Israel’s sustained bombing of civilians in the Gaza Strip and the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the besieged enclave.

The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Saturday that Sakir Ozkan Torunlar was being recalled “in view of the unfolding humanitarian tragedy in Gaza caused by the continuing attacks by Israel against civilians and Israel’s refusal of calls for a ceasefire and the continuous and unhindered flow of humanitarian aid.”

The move comes as Ankara’s rhetoric is becoming increasingly critical of Israel. On Friday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he was breaking off contact with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

“Netanyahu is no longer someone we can talk to. We have written him off,” Turkish media quoted Erdogan as saying. But he added that this does not mean Turkey is cutting its relations with Israel and his intelligence chief is in contact with Israeli and Palestinian authorities as well as Hamas.

Turkey hosts members of Hamas, which it does not consider a “terrorist” organisation like the United States and the European Union. It has called for an immediate ceasefire, unlike Western governments.

Erdogan also said that when the war is over, Turkey wants “to see Gaza as a peaceful region that is a part of an independent Palestinian state, in line with 1967 borders, with territorial integrity, and with East Jerusalem as its capital”.

Blinken is due to make a two-day visit to Turkiye from Sunday, during which he will “underscore the importance of protecting civilian lives in Israel and the Gaza Strip”, the US State Department said.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military and Lebanese movement Hezbollah engaged in cross-border clashes on Saturday, with each claiming to have hit the other’s positions along the frontier.

The latest skirmishes came a day after Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah warned that the war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip could turn into a regional conflict if Israel pushed on with its offensive in the Palestinian territory.

Meanwhile, thousands took to the streets of Berlin on Saturday in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza. The atmosphere was calm at the start of the rally, and many protesters came with their families and children. “Save Gaza”, “Stop genocide” and “Ceasefire” were emblazoned on marchers’ placards, according to AFP journalists.

The participants, many of whom wore the keffiyeh, the scarf worn by Palestinians, gathered on the famous Alexanderplatz in central Berlin, shouting “Free Palestine”. Many held Palestinian flags. The demonstration was called by several associations supporting the Palestinians.

The organisers had said they expected around 2,000 participants, but the police had estimated there could be at least 10,000 and deployed some 1,400 officers to oversee the march.

Separately, thousands of protesters rallied across Iran on Saturday against the United States and Israel and in support of Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip.

“Down with USA” and “Down with Israel”, chanted demonstrators gathered in front of the former US embassy in Tehran, an AFP journalist reported.

They set ablaze an effigy of Netanyahu as well as the US and Israel flags in front of flag-waving crowds. Black-clad women waved victory signs with their hands, painted over with Palestinian flags.

Speaking on Saturday, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf hailed Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel as “a turning point” that “changed history”.

“No matter what the United States and the Zionist regime (Israel) do, the situation after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation will not return” to how it was, Ghalibaf added.