Israel has attacked 16 schools in Gaza in the past six weeks, killing hundreds of Palestinians, rights group Euro-Med Human Rights Monitor reported this week — as hundreds of thousands of children in Gaza should have been starting a new school year.
According to Euro-Med Monitor, Israel has killed 217 Palestinians across 16 schools now functioning as shelters in Gaza since the beginning of August. These attacks have also injured hundreds, the group says.
The group says that this is part of an escalation of school attacks carried out by Israel in recent weeks, amounting to roughly one school bombing every two days.
“There is no legitimate reason to target schools above the heads of displaced individuals, and this act is a blatant violation of the principles of distinction, military necessity, proportionality, and the obligation to exercise appropriate caution,” Euro-Med Monitor wrote. “Every time it launches an attack, the Israeli army attempts to justify its actions by claiming that it is attacking military targets, but it never offers any proof to support these assertions.”
The latest attack came on Saturday, when Israeli forces bombed a school north of Gaza City, the Amr Ibn al-Aas School, killing at least three and wounding at least 20 in the attack on the now-shelter for displaced Palestinians