Rescuers in Gaza raced to dig victims from the rubble on Sunday after Israeli airstrikes on two school buildings left at least 30 people dead, according to the Palestinian Civil Defense. The strikes continue a bloody weekend, after a similar lethal attack on Saturday.
Mahmoud Basal, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Civil Defense, told CNN that the majority of the bodies recovered Sunday have been women and children. Rescue operations continue in hopes that some people remain alive under the destroyed buildings, which had been serving as shelters for displaced families, he said.
The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and the Israel Security Agency have taken responsibility for the strike, saying that they were targeting “terrorists operating inside Hamas command and control centers” that were “embedded” within the schools.
The IDF did not respond to CNN’s questions regarding the number of Hamas members and civilians killed in the strike, or whether civilians were warned of the strike in advance.
People stand over the shrouded bodies of those killed during Israeli bombardment on the HassanSalameh and Al-Nassr schools housing displaced Palestinians on August 4, 2024, at the Al-Ahli Arab hospital.
Videos obtained by CNN from the area show extensive destruction and dead bodies in a schoolyard following the Israeli strike. In the videos, medics and rescuers carry injured children to waiting ambulances.
Three floors of the northern wing of Al-Nasr School were destroyed, as was the ground floor of the adjacent Hassan Salama School, a local journalist told CNN. The two school buildings housed hundreds of displaced people, primarily women and children, according to the local journalist. Both schools were in a densely populated residential area.
Palestinian officials told CNN that Israel did not give civilians any warning before the airstrikes occurred.
“If a warning had been given, the number of deaths would have been lower,” Basal said.
Sunday’s strike follows a series of strikes on the Al-Huda and Al-Hamama schools — also targeting alleged Hamas infrastructure, according to the IDF — that left at least 17 dead on Saturday.
In that case, Basal said, “the first bombing was unexpected and resulted in a large number of martyrs and injured individuals. While the martyrs and injured were being retrieved, the occupation forces issued a warning that another strike was imminent.”
The death toll from Israeli military action in Gaza since October 7 reached 39,583 on Sunday, with a further 91,398 people injured, according to the Ministry of Health in Gaza. Israel launched the action in Gaza following the Hamas attacks, wihich killed around 1,200 people.
