CAIRO/GAZA – An Israeli airstrike on a school sheltering displaced families in northern Gaza killed at least 10 people on Wednesday, while another hit a children’s hospital, medics said, as three European leaders called on Israel to end its blockade on aid.
Since a January ceasefire collapsed on March 18, Israeli attacks have killed more than 1,600 Palestinians, according to the Gaza health authorities, and hundreds of thousands have been forced from their homes as Israel seized what it calls a buffer zone of Gaza’s land.
Israel has also imposed a blockade on all goods into Gaza, including fuel and electricity, since the beginning of March.
On Wednesday, the foreign ministers of Germany, France, and Britain jointly called on Israel to adhere to international law and allow the unhindered passage of humanitarian aid into Gaza.
They also urged for the ceasefire to be restored and for remaining hostages held by militant group Hamas to be released.
“Humanitarian aid must never be used as a political tool and Palestinian territory must not be reduced nor subjected to any demographic change,” the ministers said in a statement.
Medics said the airstrike on the Yaffa School in the Tuffah area of Gaza City set fire to tents and classrooms.
There has been no Israeli comment on the school attack.
Some furniture was still in flames several hours after the strike as people sifted through blackened classrooms and the schoolyard in search of their belongings.
“We were sleeping and suddenly something exploded, we started looking and found the whole school on fire, the tents here and there were on fire, everything was on fire,” said eyewitness, Um Mohammed Al-Hwaiti.
“People were shouting and men were carrying people, charred (people), charred children, and were walking and saying: ‘Dear God, dear God, we have no one but you.’ What can we say? Dear God, only,” she told Reuters.
Medics said at least 36 people had been killed in Israeli strikes across Gaza on Wednesday.
REUTERS
