Israel Bombs Gaza School Shelters 39 Times in October

In a dangerous increase in crimes targeting civilian gathering places, particularly in the northern Gaza Strip, the Israeli occupation army has targeted shelter centres 39 times since the beginning of October. These attacks aim to forcefully displace the Palestinian population from the area, and have killed 188 people and injured hundreds more.

Since the beginning of August 2024, the Israeli army has targeted schools, hospitals, clinics, and shelter halls 65 times, including 39 times in the current month of October, killing 672 Palestinians and injuring over 1,000 more, according to the Euro-Med Monitor field team. Fifty-seven of the targeted locations were located in Gaza City or the northern Gaza Strip, while the remaining eight were in the central part of the Strip.

The Israeli targeting has included shelling, direct shootings, killing forcibly displaced people and their families, or making them leave schools-turned-shelters under fire and/or with orders to relocate. These schools are then burned or otherwise destroyed by Israeli forces in order to render them uninhabitable and stop displaced people from returning to them.

Israel’s systematic policy of destroying shelters further restricts the options available to residents in terms of places to seek refuge, which helps the country achieve its objectives of destroying and forcibly displacing Palestinians and altering the demographic makeup of the Strip. This is particularly apparent in northern Gaza, where Israeli officials with varying degrees of authority have made it clear they intend to annex and settle.

The most recent Israeli targeting of shelters and ensuing waves of forced displacement in the north have caused dozens of Palestinian families to be dispersed and their members to be separated from one another, which has doubled their psychological suffering, and especially that of the children.

Targeting shelters is a crucial component of Israel’s strategy to continue to weaken the social structures of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip; erode their physical and psychological well-being; and eradicate any communal areas that might, even in small ways, provide social and emotional support.

Additionally, targeting shelters has a negative impact on the likelihood that families and individuals will receive humanitarian aid, because many of these spaces serve as distribution points for charitable organisations. If they are forced to relocate, they might end up in places where there is no access to the already limited amount of humanitarian assistance available in the Strip. In this way, the Israeli targeting of shelters worsens the already-dire humanitarian situation and the suffering of the Palestinian populace in the Gaza Strip.

The Euro-Med Monitor field team reported, on the afternoon of Sunday 27 October, that the Israeli air force bombed the Asmaa School in the Al-Shati refugee camp, west of Gaza City. The school-turned-shelter was home to thousands of displaced people, and the bombing killed 11 Palestinians—including four journalists, two of whom were women—and injured dozens more. The Israeli air force had bombed the same school eight days prior, killing eight Palestinians and injuring others.

The Israeli air force had bombed the Shuhada Al-Nuseirat Secondary School for Boys earlier, on Tuesday 24 October. This school was home to thousands of displaced people in the central Gaza Strip’s Nuseirat refugee camp, and the bombing killed 18 Palestinians, including 12 children and three women, and injured 52 more, according to the Euro-Med Monitor field team.

According to a review by the Euro-Med Monitor field team, none of the victims—which include 54-year-old professor Ashraf Yaqoub Al-Jadi, Dean of the Islamic University of Gaza’s Faculty of Nursing—were militants.

At least 10 schools in northern Gaza are currently being evacuated by the Israeli occupation army, which is also setting the majority of them on fire. The evacuation of these schools occurred after the Israeli occupation army sent quadcopters or Palestinian detainees and told those inside to leave and head to checkpoints. Some of these schools were bombed without any prior notice, such as the Jabalia Preparatory School, in which 10 displaced people were killed on 21 October, and the Zaid Bin Haritha School, in which seven displaced people were killed on 22 October.

All nations should fulfill their international obligations by preventing Israel from completing the crime of genocide and other serious crimes in the Gaza Strip; protecting civilians there; making sure Israel abides by international law and the rulings of the International Court of Justice; enforcing effective sanctions against it; and halting all forms of military, financial, and political support and cooperation, including by immediately suspending military aid, export licenses, and arms sales to Israel.

Additionally, all nations who engage in criminal activity alongside Israel, particularly those that offer Israel support or assistance in any way, should be held responsible. This includes aiding Israel and entering into contractual agreements in the areas of military, intelligence, politics, law, finance, and the media, among other areas that could help Israel continue to commit its crimes.

At the international, regional, and local levels, the path of universal jurisdiction must be seriously and cooperatively activated in order to hold the perpetrators of crimes against Palestinian civilians accountable before the national courts of nations that adopt such jurisdiction.

A summary of these attacks, based on Euro-Med Monitor documentation, is provided below:

 SchoolAreaDateNature of the attack
 1.Dalal Al-Maghribi SchoolShuja’iyya – East Gaza City1 August 2024Aerial bombardment
2. Al-Rafidain SchoolGaza City3 August 2024Aerial bombardment
 3.Al-Huda SchoolGaza City3 August 2024Aerial bombardment
 4.Hamamah SchoolGaza City3 August 2024Aerial bombardment
 5.Muscat SchoolBeit Lahia Project – North Gaza Strip3 August 2024Aerial bombardment
6. Hassan Salama SchoolSheikh Radwan – Gaza City4 August 2024Aerial bombardment
 7.Al-Nasr SchoolSheikh Radwan – Gaza City4 August 2024Aerial bombardment
 8.Al-Zahra SchoolEast Gaza City8 August 2024Aerial bombardment
 9.Abdul Fattah Hamoud SchoolYaffa Street – East Gaza City8 August 2024Aerial bombardment
 10.Al-Tabi’in SchoolEast Gaza City10 August 2024Aerial bombardment
 11.Mustafa Hafez SchoolGaza City 20 August 2024Aerial bombardment
 12.Salah Al-Din SchoolGaza City 21 August 2024Aerial bombardment
 13.Al-Ezz Bin Abdul Salam SchoolNuseirat – Central Gaza Strip26 August 2024Aerial bombardment
 14.Safad SchoolZeitoun Neighbourhood – Gaza City1 September 2024Aerial bombardment
 15.Halima Al-Saeeda School 7 September 2024Aerial bombardment
 16.Amr Bin Al-Aas SchoolSheikh Radwan – Gaza City7 September 2024Aerial bombardment
 17.Al-Nuseirat Girls’ Preparatory School (A)Nuseirat – Central Gaza Strip11 September 2024Aerial bombardment
 18.Shuhada Al-Zeitoun SchoolZeitoun Neighbourhood – South East Gaza City14 September 2024Aerial bombardment
 19.Ghazi Al-Shawa SchoolBeit Hanoun – North Gaza Strip15 September 2024Aerial bombardment
 20.Ibn Al-Haytham SchoolShuja’iyya – East Gaza City18 September 2024Aerial bombardment
 21.Al-Zeitoun School (C)Zeitoun Neighbourhood – South East Gaza City21 September 2024Aerial bombardment
 22.Kafr Qasim SchoolAl Shati’ Camp – West Gaza City22 September 2024Aerial bombardment
 23.Khaled Bin Al-Walid Secondary School for BoysNuseirat Camp – Central Gaza Strip23 September 2024Aerial bombardment
 24.Al-Fakhari Government SchoolZeitoun Neighbourhood – South East Gaza City24 September 2024Aerial bombardment
 25.Al-Faluja SchoolNorth Gaza Strip26 September 2024Aerial bombardment
 26.Umm Al-Fahm SchoolNorth Gaza Strip29 September 2024Aerial bombardment
 27.Al-Nuseirat Girls’ Preparatory School (C)Nuseirat – Central Gaza Strip1 October 2024Aerial bombardment
 28.Al-Shuja’iyya Boys’ SchoolShuja’iyya – East Gaza City1 October 2024Aerial bombardment
 29.Muscat SchoolAl Tuffah – East Gaza2 October 2024Aerial bombardment
 30.Al-Nuseirat Girls’ Elementary School (A)Nuseirat – Central Gaza Strip2 October 2024Aerial bombardment
 31.Khalifa SchoolBeit Lahia Project – North Gaza Strip Aerial bombardment
 32.Deir al-Balah Mixed Basic SchoolDeir al-Balah – Central Gaza Strip3 October 2024Aerial bombardment
 33.Baghdad HallJabalia Camp – North Gaza Strip4 October 2024Aerial bombardment
 34.Al-Rafei SchoolJabalia al Balad – North Gaza Strip9 October 2024Aerial bombardment
35. Yemen Happy HospitalJabalia Camp – North Gaza Strip9 October 2024Aerial bombardment
 36.Rufaidah Elementary SchoolDeir al-Balah – Central Gaza Strip10 October 2024Aerial bombardment
 37.Abdul Rahman Ibn Auf SchoolAl-Saftawi Neighbourhood – North Gaza10 October 2024Aerial bombardment
 38.Al Ramal ClinicGaza City10 October 2024Aerial bombardment
 39.Hafs SchoolJabalia Camp – North Gaza Strip11 October 2024Artillery shelling
 40.Hafsa Al Fouqa SchoolJabalia Camp – North Gaza Strip14 October 2024Bombardment
 41.Abu Hussein SchoolJabalia – North Gaza Strip17 October 2024Bombardment
 42.Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed SchoolBeit Lahia Project – North Gaza Strip17 October 2024Bombardment
 43.Asma SchoolGaza City19 October 2024Bombardment
 44.Abu Hussein SchoolJabalia – North Gaza Strip19 October 2024Shelling
 45.Abu Hussein SchoolJabalia – North Gaza Strip20 October 2024Shelling
 46.Hafsa SchoolJabalia – North Gaza Strip20 October 2024Bombardment
 47.Jabalia Preparatory SchoolJabalia – North Gaza Strip21 October 2024 
 48.One of the Al Fouqa schoolsJabalia – North Gaza Strip21 October 2024Aerial bombardment
 49.One of the Al Fouqa schoolsJabalia – North Gaza Strip21 October 2024Evacuation
50. One of the Al Fouqa schoolsJabalia – North Gaza Strip21 October 2024Evacuation
 51.One of the Al Fouqa schoolsJabalia – North Gaza Strip21 October 2024Evacuation
52. One of the Al Fouqa schoolsJabalia – North Gaza Strip21 October 2024Evacuation
 53.One of the Al Fouqa schoolsJabalia – North Gaza Strip21 October 2024Evacuation
 54.Palestine SchoolBeit Hanoun – North Gaza Strip21 October 2024Evacuation
 55.Al Shawa SchoolBeit Hanoun – North Gaza Strip21 October 2024Aerial bombardment
 56.Khalifa SchoolBeit Hanoun – North Gaza Strip22 October 2024Evacuation
 57.Kuwait SchoolBeit Hanoun – North Gaza Strip22 October 2024Evacuation
 58.Aleppo SchoolBeit Hanoun – North Gaza Strip22 October 2024Evacuation
 59.Zaid Bin Haritha SchoolBeit Hanoun – North Gaza Strip22 October 2024Bombardment
 60.Al Zahraa SchoolGaza City23 October 2024Bombardment
 61.Shuhada Al-Nusairat Secondary School for BoysNuseirat – Central Gaza Strip24 October 2024Bombardment
 62.Abu Hussein SchoolJabalia – North Gaza Strip24 October 2024Bombardment
 63.Tal Al Rabi SchoolBeit Lahia Project – North Gaza Strip25 October 2024Bombardment
 64.Salah Al Din SchoolGaza City27 October 2024Bombardment
65. Asma SchoolGaza City27 October 2024Bombardment

Euromed Human Rights Monitor

CrossFireArabia

CrossFireArabia

Dr. Marwan Asmar holds a PhD from Leeds University and is a freelance writer specializing on the Middle East. He has worked as a journalist since the early 1990s in Jordan and the Gulf countries, and been widely published, including at Albawaba, Gulf News, Al Ghad, World Press Review and others.

Related Posts

Muhannad Hadi: ‘…Not a Place For Humans to Survive’

Muhannad Hadi spoke to UN News from the Al-Mamouniya School in Gaza City run by the UN agency that assists Palestine refugee, UNRWA. Like the rest of UNRWA’s schools that are still standing…

Israel ‘Proudly’ Destroys 100s of Gaza Mosques

CROSSFIREARABIA – With confirmed reports of hundreds of mosques destroyed by the Israeli occupation army in Gaza, a female Israeli soldier poses for a picture inside a severally damaged mosque…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

You Missed

With 100 Missiles Into Israel Hezbollah Gains Upper Hand

With 100 Missiles Into Israel Hezbollah Gains Upper Hand

Arab World Condemn But Smotrich Not Listening!

Arab World Condemn But Smotrich Not Listening!

Biggest Lie!

Biggest Lie!

Gaza Destroyed

Gaza Destroyed

Her Last Message…

Her Last Message…

Cold-bloodied Murders

Cold-bloodied Murders