Early Saturday morning, the Al Tabieen school was hit in what the IDF describes as a precision attack in Gaza City. According to the Israeli Defense Forces, 19 members of Hamas and Islamic Jihad were killed. The IDF claims the school was a command center for the militant groups. SCHOOL: Above the door is written “Skolen Al Tabieen”. The school in Gaza City was used as a shelter for displaced Palestinians. The IDF claims it was also a command center for Hamas. Photo: Mahmoud Issa / Reuters But far more than the 19 were killed, according to local authorities. On Saturday evening, the number is up to 93, according to spokesman for civil preparedness in the Gaza Strip, Mahmoud Basal. Photos and videos from the scene show that children are also among the victims. Abu Wassim, who lives near the school, was interviewed at the school on Saturday morning. – Peaceful people had gathered to pray when a missile suddenly hit them, he says and continues: – The woman, children and youth were reduced to body parts. Children were torn apart and women were burned. news warns against strong images in the video below. Save the Children: – Deadliest attack The school served as a place of residence for displaced Palestinians. Save the Children says the attack is the deadliest school attack so far in the 10-month war. Schools, like hospitals, are considered civilian targets. They should therefore not be military targets in conflicts, according to humanitarian law. Calling the attacks a pattern In the last two weeks alone, Israel has attacked at least 10 schools, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and Al Jazeera. A count by the AFP news agency shows that since 6 July there have been at least 14 school attacks. Attacks on schools in Gaza 27 July: Two schools in Deir al Balah (Khadija and Ahmad al Kurd) were attacked. At least 30 were killed, 15 children and women are said to have been among the dead. August 1: The Dalal Moghrabi school in the ash Shujaiyeh neighborhood was attacked. 15 were killed, among them children. 3 August: Hamama and Huda schools in Shake Radwan in Gaza City. According to reports, 16 were killed, including women and children. On 4 August, Hassan Salame and Nasser schools were attacked. 25 are said to have been killed, including women and children. On August 8, the Abdul Fattah Hamouda and az Zahra schools were attacked. On August 10, the al Tabieen school was attacked. Israel has claimed that Khadija, Dala Moghrabi, Hamama, Hassan Salame and Nasser schools were used by Hamas militants, according to the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. (Source: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Al Jazeera) The UN High Commissioner for Refugees said last week that the attacks have a pattern that they are appalled by. On Saturday, Israel was condemned by, among others, Britain, Egypt, Jordan, Belgium, Turkey and the EU’s foreign affairs chief. Josep Borrell writes on X that he is horrified by the images from the latest attack. – At least ten schools have been attacked in recent weeks. Nothing can justify such massacres, writes the foreign minister to the EU. FOREIGN MANAGER: Borrell says today that a ceasefire is the only way to stop the killing of civilians and secure the release of the hostages. Photo: Geert Vanden Wijngaert / AP The White House has asked for more details about the attack and says in a statement that it is deeply concerned. – A form of cynicism in Hamas’s strategy When the Israeli Defense Forces have attacked civilian infrastructure, the IDF has just justified it by pointing out that the hospital or school was used by militant Islamists. Postdoctoral fellow at the University of Oslo, Erik Skare, researches armed groups in the Gaza Strip. Postdoctoral fellow Erik Skare at the University of Oslo. Photo: UiO – In general, we know that Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups hide among the civilian population. This obviously does not exempt Israeli forces from following the rules of war, says Skare to news. But what is international law? International law has traditionally been legal rules that apply between states, but today also includes legal rules about and between international organizations and to a certain extent also individuals. International law contains rules for both peacetime and armed conflicts. The rules for peacetime can be said to have as one of their most important goals the harmonization of international relations so that armed conflicts are avoided, and also contain attempts to completely prohibit the use of force in international relations without authorization by the UN Security Council. The rules on armed conflicts come into force if such conflicts nevertheless occur, and aim to limit the consequences of such conflicts. These rules for armed conflicts apply regardless of whether such use of force was permissible under international law, and apply to all parties to the conflict. Source: Store Norske lexikon. He points out that it is difficult to verify the claim from the IDF, as long as independent journalists and investigative teams are not allowed into Gaza. – Regardless of what happened at that school, the civilian casualty figures are enormous, Skare says of Saturday’s air raid. MANY KILLED: Outside al Maamdani hospital after the air attack on a school on Saturday morning. A spokesman for the civil defense says that so far 93 have been killed, among them 11 women and six children, reports the Reuters news agency. Photo: Omar al Qattaa / AFP – Either Israeli intelligence has been extremely poor in that they did not know that there were so many civilians there. In the worst case, they have known it, but have not taken into account civilian casualties in the hope of taking out Hamas or Islamic Jihad soldiers. Postdoctoral fellow Skare says it is currently difficult to know how Hamas and other militant groups may have used civilian infrastructure during the 10-month war. – Does anyone know anything about what Hamas thinks about the risk they expose the civilians to by hiding among them? – On a general basis, there is obviously a form of cynicism in Hamas’ strategy. They do not see Palestinian civilian casualties as their responsibility, says Skare. He says that Hamas believes it is only responsible for fighting an external enemy. – That struggle will inevitably have civilian casualties, and then they often refer to other liberation struggles, such as the one in Algeria or Vietnam, where millions were killed in the struggle against France and the USA. Hellestveit: – Depends on military advantage – The fact that it is a school is not in itself so important if it is true that the Israelis say that a command center for Hamas was established here, says conflict researcher at the Institute of International Law, Cecilie Hellestveit. Conflict researcher Cecilie Hellestveit at the Institute of International Law. Photo: Robert Rønning / Robert Rønning / news – Nevertheless, according to international law, Israel is obliged to do everything they can to reduce civilian collateral damage before they attack, says the researcher. Whether the large civilian collateral damage from today’s attack will stand up under international law depends on what military advantage Israel gets from the attack, she says. – If this is an attack that had a moderately important military target for Israel, then the extensive consequential damage that was presumably foreseeable here will probably not stand up under international law. But if it was a very important military unit or figure who was there, the situation would be different, says Hellestveit. Published 10.08.2024, at 20.42 Updated 10.08.2024, at 21.06
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