Sept. 21 (UPI) — At least 22 people were killed, mostly women and children, and 30 others were wounded during a Israeli airstrike on a school for displaced children in Gaza, Palestinian health officials claimed Saturday.
The Hamas-run Palestinian Ministry of Health said in a social media post the strike happened at the Zeitoun School south of Gaza City and has added to a previously announced death toll of 119 in Gaza during the last 72 hours and 41,391 since Israel’s war against Hamas begin 11 months ago.
In a statement issued to media outlets, the Gaza government called the attack a “horrific massacre” and claimed 16 of the victims were orphaned children and widowed women sheltering at the school.
The statement said the victims had come to the school “to receive a small amount of money (orphan sponsorship) so they could buy their needs amid the genocide being waged by the occupation for nearly a year.
“However, the occupation’s missiles were waiting for them, killing them and turning them into dismembered bodies.”
Israeli Defense Forces officials, however, claimed Hamas fighters were using the school as a command and control complex.
Israeli army spokesperson Avichay Adraee issued a statement alleging Hamas used the site to plan and carry out “terrorist” operations against Israel and its forces.
The latest deaths came as negotiations for a cease-fire deal between Hamas and Israel and the return of the remaining Israeli hostages have stalled and fears of the conflict spreading throughout the Middle East have risen.
The IDF on Saturday said about 180 targets and thousands of rocket launchers controlled by the Lebanese militia group Hezbollah were in a series of raids targeting “thousands of missile launchers that were ready to be launched immediately towards Israeli territory.”
The IDF also said it had shelled some areas in southern Lebanon with artillery.
