According to Gaza’s health ministry, which is under Hamas control, the attack happened on Tuesday near the al-Awda school entrance in the town of Abasan al-Kabira, east of Khan Younis.
“Unimaginable” was how one eyewitness put the amount of casualties.
“Precise munition” was used, according to the Israeli military, to target a “terrorist from Hamas’ military wing” who had participated in the attack on Israel on October 7. Additionally, it stated that it was “looking into the reports that civilians were harmed” in the area around the school.
Germany and the European Union denounced the strike.
In a statement on X, the German foreign office stated, “It is unacceptable that people who are seeking shelter in schools are being killed.” “The repeated attacks on schools by the Israeli army must stop, and an investigation must come quickly.”
The event occurred one week after tens of thousands of Palestinians were forced to abandon Abasan al-Kabira and other parts of eastern Khan Younis due to an order from the Israeli military.
A protracted Israeli offensive earlier this year devastated much of the city, but many Palestinians had relocated there in order to flee the ongoing Israeli operation in adjacent Rafah.
