Egypt on Saturday condemned Israel’s bombing of a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in Gaza City, an attack that killed more than 100 people, including children.
The “Al-Tabeen” school in the Al-Daraj neighbourhood, east of Gaza City, was struck early Saturday morning, according to Palestinian officials.
Video from the site showed body parts scattered on the ground and bodies being carried away and covered in blankets on the floor.
The Hamas-run media office said the strikes hit when people sheltering at the school were performing dawn prayers, leading to many casualties.
“So far, there are more than 93 martyrs, including 11 children and six women. There are unidentified remains,” said the spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defence, Mahmoud Bassal, in a televised news conference.
Around 6,000 people had been sheltering at the compound, he said. The Gaza health ministry has not yet provided casualty details.
In a statement released by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Emigration, Egypt denounced the continuing Israeli attacks on civilians in the Gaza Strip, calling it an “unprecedented disregard for international law and international humanitarian law.”
Egypt demanded a united and effective international stance to protect the Palestinian people in Gaza and to stop the targeting of defenceless civilians.
“The ongoing large-scale crimes and the deliberate killing of these vast numbers of innocent civilians, especially amidst intensified efforts by mediators to achieve a ceasefire, is undeniable proof of Israel’s lack of political will to end this brutal war,” the statement said.
Egypt highlighted the continuous humanitarian suffering of Palestinians under a “global humanitarian catastrophe that the world is powerless to end.”
Egypt reaffirmed its commitment to ongoing diplomatic efforts and intense communication with all influential international actors. It will continue to ensure the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip by all means and work towards a ceasefire, despite the challenges and obstacles it may encounter.
The attack on the school comes amidst a wider conflict between Israel and Hamas, with Israel continuing its offensive in Gaza.
The United Nations has reported that 477 out of 564 schools in Gaza have been directly hit or damaged in the war as of July 6.
In June, an Israeli strike on a school sheltering displaced Palestinians in central Gaza killed at least 33 people, including 12 women and children, according to local health officials.
